Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar was yesterday honoured with an OBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

He attended the ceremony with his wife Meera Syal.

The Kumars at No 42 star was honoured for services to entertainment. The Queen was said to have told him to "keep making us laugh".

He told the press jokingly that he planned to sell the medal after. As an Asian bloke, it's another thing I can stick on eBay," he said. "I'll do it tomorrow morning. You can look it up. I'll sign it, of course."

His parents also attended the event. "I gave them a 'thumbs-up' when I went past in the midst of all this grandeur," he said.

He added: "It's great for my parents. They're of that generation that came over here with nothing. My ancestors would never have believed that their offspring would be at the Palace."

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal, who recently had a baby together, are currently filming for the next series of Kumars at No 42.

Meera told AIM that confirmed guests include Cybill Shepherd, Jamie Cullum and Louis Walsh. She was honoured with an MBE by the Queen in 1997.

She was also awarded an honorary degree from the University of Manchester this week.