Lenny Henry: Being offered knighthood was 'a lovely feeling'

Comedian Lenny Henry has appeared to confirm that he is set to receive a knighthood after letting slip that it was "a lovely feeling" to be offered the honour.

Speaking on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans show he said: "It was lovely, it was a lovely feeling, it was like being filled with lemonade for 10 or 15 minutes but as people found out and started to ring it was a bit overwhelming."

The 56-year-old has been tipped to appear on the Queen's birthday honours list, which will be announced on Friday, in recognition of his charitable work and in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Comic Relief charity which he co-founded.

Henry founded Comic Relief along with scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to the famine in Ethiopia in 1985 and has continued to champion the cause ever since, fronting a bi-annual televised fundraiser to boost donations.

The comedian, who grew up in Dudley, started his comedic career working on the controversial Black And White Minstrel Show before shooting to fame doing impressions on talent show New Faces and going on to front his own TV series and the sitcom Chef!.

A successful actor as well as comic, Henry has also taken on more serious roles during his time in the spotlight and has won acclaim for stage performances, including Othello and The Comedy Of Errors, at the National Theatre.