IT was great to see actress Lynda Bellingham receiving an OBE for her services to charity, and even nicer to see her looking so well.
The 65 year-old actress, who shot to fame in TV’s Oxo adverts and who has forged a reputation as a talented actress, is fighting a high-profile  ongoing battle with cancer.
Her acting career was put on hold last year while she had chemotherapy treatment but she emerged back into the public spotlight recently – sporting a new natural white hairstyle.
I interviewed her a couple of years ago, prior to seeing her in the extensive tour of Calendar Girls, and found her to be a genuinely nice woman, very much what you see is what you get.
On the show’s Manchester opening night there was a problem with the revolving stage so they had to start again. Lynda ad-libbed her way through the hiccup, and the audience loved her for it.
There’s been a great outpouring of  empathy for Lynda over her illness, and no doubt people will be glad for this latest honour. It will be good to see her back in acting harness, too, and once more delighting her fans.