OXFORD-BORN actor, director, comedian and singer Hugh Laurie has been made a CBE in the New Year Honours list.

Mr Laurie, who was brought up in the city as his father Dr Ran Laurie was a GP in Blackbird Leys, has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to drama.

He was born in Oxford in 1959 and was educated at Dragon School in North Oxford between the ages of seven and 13, before going to Eton College and then Cambridge University.

It was there, as the president of the university’s renowned Footlights amateur dramatics club, that he met Stephen Fry and, shortly after, a professional partnership was born.

Fry and Laurie’s stage success led to their TV sketch show Alfresco, which also featured the likes of their friend and Laurie’s one-time partner Emma Thompson, Ben Elton and Robbie Coltrane.

His comedy prowess was further bolstered by his role in Blackadder as the amiable idiot George in the third and fourth series of the hit sitcom in the late 1980s.

On the big screen, Mr Laurie has appeared in films such as Peter’s Friends, Maybe Baby, Sense And Sensibility, 101 Dalmatians, The Man In The Iron Mask, The Borrowers and Stuart Little and its sequel.

In 2004, his star grew even more when he landed the leading role in US medical series House.

His portrayal of the unconventional and anti-social Dr Gregory House won him a host of top industry prizes, including Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards and People’s Choice awards, as well as a handful of Emmy nominations.

It transformed him into an international heart-throb and in 2006 he was named ‘TV’s sexiest man’ by a US magazine.

Away from acting, Mr Laurie’s debut novel The Gun Seller was a hit following its release in 1996.

In recent years, Mr Laurie – a skilled musician who can play the piano and drums among other instruments – has entertained a whole new fan base with his musical efforts.

He has released two successful blues albums, both of which reached the top three in the UK charts: 2011’s Let Them Talk and 2013’s Didn’t It Rain.

In 2007 he was made an OBE for services to drama but today’s award will see the 58-year-old upgraded to a CBE.

Last year he returned to drama in the acclaimed series The Night Manager alongside fellow former Dragon School pupils Tom Hollander and Tom Hiddleston.