Playwright, screenwriter, actor, author - Alan Bennett has basically completed the dream set throughout his career. Best-known for his plays-turned films The History Boys and The Madness of King George III, as well as the monologue-series Talking Heads, the 80-year-old is a national treasure. However, the Leeds-born screenwriter first refused a CBE in 1988 and then a knighthood in 1996, revealing that - although not an outright republican - he would not want to accept an honour because "it would be a bit like having to wear a suit for the rest of my life". Who knows what that means...