15 Famous Names Who Turned Down British Honours

In spite of winning a Best Director’s Oscar for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and having a string of other bestselling, critically acclaimed films to his name, it was Danny Boyle’s involvement in the opening ceremony to the 2012 London Olympics that really made the establishment sit up and take notice. Along with various Olympic medal winners such as Bradley Wiggins and Jessica Ennis, Boyle was offered his place in the New Years Honours list.

Boyle’s response was in the negative, however, commenting “I'm very proud to be an equal citizen, and I think that's what the opening ceremony was actually about."