The actress – famous for her roles in Eastenders and the Carry On films – will receive an OBE this year, giving her the title Dame Windsor. "For a girl from the East End born into a working-class family and an evacuee during World War Two, this is truly like a dream," she said. Also on the 2016 list of a whopping 1196 honours are the jockey AP McCoy, actors James Nesbitt and Idris Elba, and former tennis player turned TV presenter Sue Barker. Read more.

Founder Mike Ashley announced today that he would be meeting the minimum wage for the payment of staff from the 1st January 2016 onwards, after widespread complaint. The company's work practices have previously been called "Victorian". The change in wages will not apply to those on zero hour contracts. Read more.

The plane, nearly halfway on its journey from Mumbai to London on Wednesday morning, had to do a U-turn after a cabin member spotted a rat on board. Policy deemed the rodent a contamination risk if the plane were to land anywhere but back in India. Apparently, two meals were served on board during the flight. Tasty. Read more.

Angry commentators are taking to Twitter to voice complaint at the social media platform for their hire of a white, male diversity officer. Jeffrey Siminoff has been hired from his former role as director of diversity at Apple. According to a 2014 report, Twitter's staff is 70% male and 59% white. Read more.