Damehood for Vanessa Redgrave in New Year's Honours


Chiswick-based actor and activist 'surprised' at award

Vanessa Redgrave protesting with junior doctors in 2016
Vanessa Redgrave protesting with junior doctors in 2016. Picture: Garry Knight

The 84-year-old Chiswick based actor and activist, Vanessa Redgrave, has spoken of her surprise and gratitude at being made a Dame in the New Year’s Honours List.

She has been honoured for her services to drama during a career which has lasted over six decades.

She told the Press Association, ‘I’m surprised and grateful to join this wondrous group of British artists whose work has inspired me and audiences the world over.

‘My generation fought for freedom of expression. Long may this remain.’

The six-times nominated and one time Oscar winner has not just been one of the leading actors of her generation but has been a tireless activist for a number of causes.                                                                           

Recently she directed a film about child refugees in migrant boats called Sea Sorrow and she has campaigned locally       against cuts to local NHS services and plans to close a cinema in Hammersmith.

During the pandemic she has raised the issue of people working in the cultural sector who have lost their incomes due to the closure of venues.

Most recently, she has become known to many as the narrator of the BBC drama series 'Call The Midwife'.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

January 4, 2022