Dracula star Lee is a true creature of the knight

VETERAN horror actor Christopher Lee and golfer Nick Faldo are knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list today.

Lee, who terrified generations of cinema-goers, and Faldo, often described as Britain's most successful golfer of the modern era, join 984 fellow Britons receiving a host of honours.

About 72 per cent of the awards go to "unsung heroes" for achievements which would otherwise go unrecognised.

Lee, 87, known for his blood-curdling performances opposite Peter Cushing in the Hammer horror movies, once joked: "To be a legend, you've either got to be dead or excessively old."

Awards also go to Royle Family actress Sue Johnston, who said she was "delighted" at the prospect of meeting a member of the real Royal Family when she collects her OBE, celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon and TV chef Delia Smith.

Poetry is recognised in the list, with knighthoods for former poet laureate Andrew Motion and Christopher Ricks, who is about to step down as Oxford University professor of poetry.

Lee is one of the most prolific screen actors of all time, with more than 250 film and TV credits.

As well as appearing in horror films such as 1958's Dracula and 1959's The Mummy, London-born Lee also played Scaramanga in the 1974 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

In recent years he starred as Saruman in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.

In 2001 he was made a CBE for services to drama.

Faldo, 51, said he felt "humbled" but "delighted" after being awarded a knighthood to add to his six major championship wins.

"It has come as a real surprise and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me," said Faldo who became the youngest player to qualify for the Ryder Cup at the age of 20.

"I believe I join Sir Henry Cotton as the only other professional British golfer to receive a knighthood so to stand alongside such esteemed company is incredible," he added.

Faldo won three Opens and three Masters, and spent 92 weeks as the world's number one golfer. He is renowned for his dedication to his game, although controversy surrounded his captaincy of Europe's losing Ryder Cup team last year.

Also honoured is David "Danny" Blanchflower, the Bank of England policymaker whose warnings on the recession went unheeded by fellow rate-setters. He is to made a CBE.

Mr Blanchflower, a visiting professor of economics at Stirling University, called for drastic interest rate cuts to avoid a slump during his time as a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee. But his predictions were ignored until late last year because of inflation worries.

The US-based labour market expert said: "It is a nice return for all the work I have done – and all the commuting."

Frances Lawrence, the widow of murdered London headmaster Philip Lawrence, receives an MBE for services to charity.

Johnston, 65, spent eight years playing Sheila Grant in Brookside before taking the part of long-suffering mother Barbara Royle in the BBC sitcom.

A CBE goes to Sassoon, 81, who styled the hair of royalty, models and film stars in a career that revolutionised hairdressing.

Smith, 67, whose books have sold more than 20 million copies, is awarded a CBE for services to the food industry.

In the acting world, Jonathan Pryce, 62, who appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, receives a CBE.

MBEs go to Anna Wing, 94, who played Lou Beale in EastEnders from the soap's start in 1985 until 1988, and former Likely Lad James Bolam, 70.

Sporting stars receiving honours include motorcyclist Maria Costello, 31, who holds the women's record for the fastest lap of the Isle of Man TT circuit, and former England cricketer Graeme Hick, 43.

They are made MBEs, as is Charlotte Edwards, 29, the captain of the England women's cricket team that won the World Cup in Australia earlier this year.

Former England rugby international Alastair Hignell, who campaigns to raise cash for multiple sclerosis, is becomes a CBE for services to sport and charity.

Disability campaigner made MBE

DONALD Stirling, the first person with a learning disability to take on a governing role in a major voluntary organisation in Scotland, said he was "stunned" at being awarded an MBE.

Mr Stirling, 54, from Inverness, who has campaigned in UK and Europe, said: "I never expected this, I was just trying to spread the word for people with learning disabilities."

After gaining a seat on Enable Scotland's council of learning disability, Mr Stirling went on to became the first disabled trustee of a major European organisation for disabled people, Inclusion Europe.

Sign of the times as no politicians get a gong

NOT a single politician receives an honour in the latest list, after the most recent recipients of the awards were caught up in the scandal over MPs' expenses.

The last politicians to be honoured were Sir Peter Viggers and Sir Alan Beith, both of whom were knighted in the Queen's birthday honours a year ago.

Sir Peter, the Tory MP for Gosport, has announced his resignation at the next general election after being revealed to have claimed £1,645 for a floating "duck island".

Sir Alan, who has put himself forward as a candidate for Commons Speaker, has claimed £117,000 in second-home expenses, while his wife, Baroness Maddock, has claimed £60,000 in House of Lords expenses for the same address.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said that nominations to honour politicians were made by their parties, but none had been forthcoming for more than a year.

Parties are said to have been wary of recommending MPs for honours in the wake of the "cash for peerages" scandal of 2006 and 2007, which centred on unproven allegations that people making donations or loans to political parties subsequently received peerages as a result.