Joanna Lumley and Vanessa Redgrave have both been made Dames in Queen Elizabeth II's New Years Honours list. 
Lumley, known for her roles in Absolutely Fabulous, The New Avengers, and Sensitive Skin, receives her accolade for services to drama, entertainment, and charity. She told the BBC that opening the letter offering her a Damehood was an "extraordinary shock."
"I put my head in my hands and sobbed like a baby," she recalled. "Then I thought, how has this happened? Is it a mistake? I truly was completely thrown by it, and thrilled to bits, and so touched."
Redgrave, an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony award winner, collects her Damehood for services to drama. She told the BBC that she is "surprised and grateful to join this wondrous group of British artists whose work has inspired me and audiences the world over."
Meanwhile, Bond star Daniel Craig is made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, or CMG. This is exactly the same honor that the fictional character James Bond receives in the original books by Ian Fleming. Longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson each receive CBE awards for services to film, drama, philanthropy, and skills.
Actor William Roache – who has appeared in ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 1960 – is made an OBE, while two stars of the BBC soap opera EastEnders, June Brown and Nitin Ganatra, receive OBEs, too. Spice Girl Melanie "Mel B" Brown is made an MBE in recognition of her role as patron of the domestic abuse nonprofit Women's Aid.
Are you pleased to see Joanna Lumley and Vanessa Redgrave becoming Dames?