New Year Honours 2018: Actor Hugh Laurie appointed CBE

Hugh Laurie, 58, has won a string of awards for his lead role in US drama House

Actor Hugh Laurie has been appointed a CBE in the New Year Honours list.

The 58-year-old, born in Oxford, has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than 35 years as an actor, comedian, writer and musician.

Already an OBE, the father-of-three is being given the upgraded honour for his services to drama.

He is best known for his comedy partnership with Stephen Fry, whom he met at university, and for his roles in sitcom Blackadder and US drama House.

Laurie, born on June 11 1959, studied at Cambridge where he became the president of the university's renowned Footlights amateur drama club.

He met Fry there and, shortly after, a professional partnership was born.

Laurie played amiable idiot George, the Prince Regent, in the third and fourth series of Blackadder in the late 1980s

Fry and Laurie's stage success led to their TV sketch show Alfresco, which also featured the likes of Emma Thompson, Ben Elton and Robbie Coltrane.

Laurie also played amiable idiot George, the Prince Regent, in the third and fourth series of Blackadder in the late 1980s.

On the big screen, Laurie has appeared in films such as Maybe Baby, Sense And Sensibility and The Man In The Iron Mask.

In 2004, Laurie landed the lead role in US medical series House, which saw him win a litany of top industry prizes including Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards and People's Choice awards.

In recent years, skilled musician Laurie released two blues albums, both of which reached the top three in the UK charts.

In 2007, Laurie was appointed OBE for services to drama and in 2016 he was immortalised with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.