Liz Smith gets MBE

SCUNTHORPE-born actress Liz Smith met with the 'Royle' seal of approval when she picked up her MBE.

The star of The Royle Family and The Vicar of Dibley was presented with the honour by the Prince of Wales in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Friday.

As he presented the honour, Prince Charles told Liz, 87, that the sofa-bound Royle Family characters were "nothing like my family, thank God."

As reported in the Scunthorpe Telegraph, Crosby-born Liz was awarded the MBE in the Queen's new year honours list, for services to drama.

She has been a fixture on television and cinema screens since making her debut in 1970, although she did not become a household name until the mid-1990s.

This was despite scooping a 1984 BAFTA for best supporting actress in the film A Private Function.

She was born in Crosby in December 1921 and attended Crosby Junior School and later the former Scunthorpe Modern and Day Commercial Schools in Cole Street, under her real name, Betty Gleadle.

Last week, she announced her retirement from the screen after suffering a stroke earlier this year.

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