Friday 11 July 2008 afternoon ceremony

Ken Follett (DLitt)

Ken Follett is one of the most popular authors in the world.

Born in Cardiff in 1949, he won admission in 1967 to University College London, where he studied Philosophy.

He has sold more than one hundred million books. His first success was Eye of the Needle, published in 1978, which won the ‘Edgar’ award for best novel. Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan starred in the 1982 film.

He has since written thrillers and historical novels, all international bestsellers, including The Pillars of the Earth, which tells the story of the building of a cathedral in medieval England; the sequel World Without End was published in October 2007.

He is active in several literacy charities: he is president of Dyslexia Action, a trustee of the National Literacy Trust and a board director of the National Academy of Writing.

Ken is a Governor of Roebuck Primary School and Nursery in Stevenage. He holds an honorary D.Litt degree (Doctor of Literature) from the University of Glamorgan in his native Wales.

He plays bass guitar in the blues band Damn Right I Got the Blues and bass balalaika in the folk group Clog Iron. He is married to Barbara Follett, the Member of Parliament for Stevenage.

Listen to Ken Follett’s speech here.

Sir David Attenborough (DSc)

David Attenborough was born in 1926. He attended a grammar school in Leicester and then won a scholarship to Cambridge University where he took a degree in Natural Sciences.

After National Service with the Royal Navy, he joined the BBC as a trainee producer. He produced a wide variety of live studio programmes before eventually specialising in natural history and travel, both of which enabled him to travel to the four corners of the world, filming animals.

In 1965 he was appointed Controller of BBC2, which was less than a year old at the time. It was here that he commissioned series such as Lord Clark’s Civilisation and Jacob Bronowski’s Ascent of Man. More popularist introductions included snooker coverage and the cult pop programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test. After four years he became editorially responsible for both BBC networks as Director of Programmes.

In 1973, keen to return to programme making, he resigned from his managerial duties. He produced a series on tribal art, The Tribal Eye and then, in 1979, Life on Earth, The Living Planet and The Trials of Life, all 12-part series examining the natural world from evolutionary, ecological and ethological points of view. These series were followed by other award-winning programmes featuring birds, mammals, terrestrial invertebrates, plants, fossils and, most recently, amphibians and reptiles.

Listen to Sir David Attenborough’s speech here.