The great & good: New Year's Honours in the South

We go to meet some of those selected in the New Year's Honours list unveiled today. From animal carer Helen Sinclair to a couple from Portsmouth who received a joint MBE for their services to deaf children. Actress Penelope Keith is also titled Dame in the new year's list.

Actress Penelope Keith says she had almost forgotten about being made a Dame after having to contend with no power at her Surrey home during the festive period.

The 73-year-old, known for her crisp diction and roles in sitcoms such as To The Manor Born and The Good Life, receives her honour for services to the arts and to charity

Like many thousands of people, she and her husband Rodney were left without power, as a result of recent bad weather.

Their electricity went off on Christmas Eve and they feasted on sardines on toast for their festive meal on December 25.

Keith said of her honour: "It's the big one. I had already got an OBE and then a CBE, so I don't know what is better than the icing on the cake - but this is."

"I found out six weeks ago but the way it works is that they send you a letter and then you have to eat it and keep quiet on pain of death," she joked.

"And I must admit that when the electricity went off I rather forgot about it."

The former Southampton Port Director has been awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours list.

The honour is in recognition of a lifetime working in the UK's ports including Southampton, where he has been port director since 2005 before he retired in December 2013.

Doug Morrison has overseen huge investment at the port, including £45 million for new cruise facilities and over £100 million for improvements to the port's container terminal.

Since Mr. Morrison's appointment, the Port of Southampton is the UK's premier cruise port, with passenger numbers swelling from 500,000 in 2004 to 1.7 million in 2013.

He said: "I am looking forward to going to Buckingham Palace to receive the award but I will be doing so on behalf of everyone at the port."

A Surrey technical director has received an OBE in the New Year's Honours.

Jeni Tennison from Epsom is the technical director of the Open Data Institute.

Before joining the ODI, she was the technical architect and lead developer for legislation.gov.uk, which pioneered the use of open data APIs within the public sector.

She set a new standard in the publication of legislation on the web, and formed the basis of The National Archives’ strategy for bringing the UK’s legislation up to date as open, public data.

Jeni has also contributed to several international standards through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

We go to meet some of those selected in the New Year's Honours list which was released last night. From animal carer Helen Sinclair to a couple from Portsmouth who received a joint MBE for their services to deaf children. Actress Penelope Keith is also titled Dame in the new year's list.

Helen Sinclair from the Isle of Wight will receive a MBE for her services to animal services as she founded the charity Friends of the Animals.

The charity was set up in 1990 to rescue and provide help to any animal in need.

She has singlehandedly created the wide ranging infrastructure for a successful charity through setting up a small group of supportive Trustees, creating a network of premises, cost effective foster homes, volunteer drivers and home checkers to help in the process of re-homing.

Shirley and David Metherell from Portsmouth are along the few in our region who have been selected to receive MBEs in the New Years Honours List revealed tonight.

The couple founded the Elizabeth Foundation in 1981 when their daughter was diagnosed as profoundly deaf.

he foundation works in partnership to deliver newborn hearing screening in the Portsmouth/Hampshire area. It also provides a range of daily support and education sessions for deaf babies, toddlers and preschool children and their families.

They are both still extremely active in leading the organisation and ensuring that it will continue to help hundreds of families.

Actress Penelope Keith, who became a household name as Margot Leadbetter in 1970s' sitcom The Good Life, becomes a dame in this year's list.

She's been Margot, To the manor born, the High Sheriff of Surrey - and now Penelope Keith from Godalming is a Dame in the Queen's New Year Honours.

A hospital worker from Reading who has raised £50,000 for various charities has been recognised in the New Year's Honours list.

Keith Staniforth, 48, has organised and completed more than 50 fundraising events over the last 20 years for charities including Comic Relief, Cancer Research and the Royal Berkshire Hospital League of Friends.

He will receive the British Empire Medal.

Helen Sinclair, 64, from Ryde on the Isle of Wight will receive a MBE for her services to animal welfare as she founded the charity Friends of the Animals.

The charity has rehomed around 7000 animals and distributed over 1.3 million items of pet food for vulnerable animals.