New Year Honours: Sports broadcaster Jill Douglas appointed MBE

Sports broadcaster Jill Douglas has been recognised in the New Year Honours List for her services to sport and charity.

Ms Douglas, who was born in Scotland but now lives in Gloucestershire, has been appointed MBE.

She said it was "very exciting" to be honoured after witnessing "some amazing things over the last 25 years".

Wiltshire pentathlete Kate French was also appointed MBE and said it would take some getting used to.

Ms Douglas, who appears on ITV, BBC and BT Sport, said she had a "wonderful career" and "hopefully people have enjoyed some of the work we've done."

In recent years she has been heavily involved in raising money to tackle motor neurone disease and said the charity side of her work had been "incredibly rewarding".

Kate French, who won gold in the modern pentathlon in the Tokyo Olympics in the summer, said it was "amazing" to become an MBE.

"It's been really tricky having to keep it to myself, especially as I had my family here for Christmas," she added.

Fellow Olympian Matt Richards, who is based in Bath, was also appointed MBE after bringing a gold medal home from Tokyo.

The 18-year-old was part of the first British team to win the 4x200m freestyle relay since the 1908 London Olympics.

His performance during the third leg of the Olympic final was pivotal in giving his team a big advantage in the final leg.

Piers Gilliver becomes an MBE after fencing at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

The 27-year-old, who is from the Forest of Dean, took gold in the Epee A competition, becoming the first British Paralympic champion in the sport since Carol Walton in 1988.

People who have served their communities during the pandemic were also recognised in the New Year Honours.

Professor Steven Hams, chief nurse for Gloucestershire Hospitals, also becomes an MBE for his services to nursing.

He led the vaccination rollout in the county and made regular appearances on radio and TV to make sure information was shared with local communities.

Ade Williams was appointed MBE for his contributions to the NHS and his efforts helping people during the pandemic.

The pharmacist from South Bristol moved to the UK from Nigeria 23 years ago as a teenager and said he was "utterly awestruck at how the NHS functioned".

He said: "In our team, working alongside my wife, also a pharmacist, we all share the belief that health inequality is a form of injustice."

Rebecca Scott, who works in the human resources department at the University of Bristol, was also appointed MBE for her work with disadvantaged communities.

A voluntary director for Autism Independence, she has set up many programmes which connect the university with local schools and under-represented groups.

The 39-year-old said she was "overwhelmed and a bit shocked" by the honour.

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