Celebrities who declined New Year's Honours and returned them

The New Year Honours list has acknowledged 1,239 people this year.   Special honours are given to people who make incredible contributions to their community and the country.  The list includes people such as medical workers, fundraisers and volunteers who were instrumental in the Covid-19 effort.  Celebrities such as DJ Craig David, EastEnders actress Nina Wadia and Coronation Street stalwart Sally Dynevor also made the cut.  But there have been a number of celebrities who have declined the opportunity of a royal honour when presented with it.   From TV chef Nigella Lawson to Dawn French and Jon Snow, here is a look at the stars who said 'no thank-you' when awarded the accolade according to The Mirror. Michael Sheen   Welsh actor Michael Sheen, who was awarded an OBE back in 2009, recently shared that years after he was given the accolade he handed it back, reports the Mirror.  The star, 51, was given the title in the 2009 New Year's Honours for his services to drama, but has now told how he gave it back a few years after as he did not want to be a "hypocrite".  During an interview with journalist Owen Jones, the Underworld actor told that he changed his mind about the accolade when he began researching Welsh history when he was invited to speak at the Learning and Work Institute’s Annual Raymond Williams Memorial Lecture - which was organised in partnership with The Open University in Wales - on November 16, 2017.  Mr Sheen said he meant "absolutely no disrespect" in returning the OBE, and added he was at the time "incredibly honoured" to have received it.  He added: "I just realised I'd be a hypocrite if I said the things I was going to say in the lecture about the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state." French and Saunders  Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders pairing turned down OBEs "for services to comedy drama" in 2001. It was only later they explained. Saunders said: “If I felt I deserved a Damehood I’d accept it,” she told Source magazine.  “At the time, we felt that we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. It didn’t seem right somehow.  “We didn’t deserve a pat on the back. It felt a bit fake to stand alongside people who devoted their lives to truly worthy causes.” Nigella Lawson  The celeb chef turned down the offer of an OBE in 2001, explaining: “I’m not saving lives and I’m not doing anything other than something I absolutely love.” David Bowie  Bowie himself later explained his decision not to join the list of musical knights including Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John.  He said: “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”  When asked about Jagger accepting the honour, he said: “It’s not my place to make a judgment on Jagger, it’s his decision. But it’s just not for me.” Jon Snow  Having declined an OBE in 2000, Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow went on to make a docu