Doctor Who actress Gugulethu Mbatha-Raw to receive MBE

Award-winning Doctor Who actress Gugulethu Mbatha-Raw, who started out in Manchester theatre before moving to a major Disney musical, is be awarded an MBE.

Ms Mbatha-Raw gained television prominence as the character Tish Jones in the BBC's Doctor Who, and starred in an Emmy-winning episode of Netflix's Black Mirror.

Raised in Oxfordshire, she has won several awards since 2012 aimed at celebrating black and women actors, and last year played an enchanted feather in Disney's live-action remake of Beauty And The Beast, which also starred Emma Watson.

She will receive the MBE from Prince Charles during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.

The actress will be joined by table tennis player Pam Butcher, who is in her 80s and will be awarded an MBE after becoming over-85 World Champion.

Others to be honoured include artist and film maker Isaac Julien, who makes documentaries exploring black and gay identity and was nominated for a Turner prize in 2001, and Paralympic rower Rachel Morris, who won a gold medal for Britain at the Rio Paralympic games in 2016.

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