Arthur and George’s Martin Clunes To Be Honored With OBE

“If you have a fancy to see your name in the next honours list….”

– The Adventure of The Bruce Partington Plans (BRUC)

Martin Clunes, the actor who portrayed Arthur Conan Doyle in the British television mini-series Arthur & George earlier this year, was also named on the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honour List.  Clunes will be honored as an Officer of the Most Benevolent Order of the British Empire (OBE).  Clunes joins Steven Moffat and Benedict Cumberbatch on the 2015 Honours list.

From the June 12, 2105 ITV News:

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes has said he is “tremendously proud” after being awarded an OBE for services to drama, charity and the community in Dorset.

The actor, who shot to fame as one half of the laddish duo in Men Behaving Badly, has played roles including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in a recent ITV series and presented travel documentaries.

Born in London, he – like his character Doc Martin – lives with his family on a farm in Dorset where he supports several local causes including the county’s chamber orchestra.

Speaking about the award, he said: “It’s very exciting and I’m tremendously proud.” Clunes, who is married to Doc Martin producer Philippa Braithwaite, has been making the show for more than a decade and has even picked up some medical knowledge along the way.

In 2013, he got involved when doctors said they wanted to carry out what he described as a “nonsensical” operation on his wife. Speaking at the time, he said: “You have to remember that British medical dramas are obliged to be accurate. You can’t just make things up as they do on American shows. So we have a medical expert on the series and I have learned about certain conditions and procedures.”

He said: “She had an infection in her gall bladder and the surgeon was minded to take out her appendix. There was no infection in her appendix and instinct told me that it would be the wrong thing to do. So I took her home instead and she was treated there.”

The badge for the OBE is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end), the obverse of which bears the left facing busts of King George V and Queen Mary; the reverse bears George V’s Royal and Imperial Cypher. Both are within a ring bearing the motto of the Order. The badges are plain gold (unlike the enamelled CBE badge), and is suspended from a ribbon that is rose-pink with pearl-grey edges, with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division.