Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes to be knighted at Windsor Castle

Maanya Sachdeva

30 November 2021 at 5:59 am·2-min read

Bond film director Sam Mendes will be knighted at Windsor Castle on Tuesday (30 November) for his services to drama.

The cinema heavyweight will be honoured alongside stars of the small screen including The Vicar Of Dibley co-writer and comedy legend Paul Mayhew-Archer and Emmerdale theme tune creator Tony Hatch.

Mendes won Best Director at the Oscars in 1999 for his first film, American Beauty.

He also co-wrote, directed and produced the Oscar-winning 1917 in 2019, which was inspired by his grandfather’s stories of the First World War. The film starred George MacKay, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Mendes also directed the 2012 Oscar-winning 007 film Skyfall, as well as Spectre, which was released in 2015 – both starring Daniel Craig as the MI6 agent with a license to kill.

Next autumn marks his first foray into solo screenwriting, with the release of Empire Of Light, starring The Crown actor Olivia Colman. Set on the south coast of England in the 1980s, the film will also be directed by Mendes.

Meanwhile, 68-year-old Mayhew-Archer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011, will be made an MBE for services to people with the disease, after presenting the award-winning 2016 BBC comedy documentary Parkinsons: The Funny Side, detailing his own experiences with the condition.

Hatch, 82, whose songs have been featured in more than 100 films and many more TV productions, and been performed by stars including Sir Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton and Dame Shirley Bassey, will collect an OBE for services to music and charity.

Additionally, oboist Professor Nicholas Daniel is being made an OBE for services to music, and trombonist Roy Williams an MBE for services to jazz.

Additional reporting on wires.

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