Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay beamed with joy as she appeared at Windsor Castle to collect her MBE from Prince William on 24 June 2026. The actress, best known for her role as Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV soap, did not let the heatwave disrupt her big day, donning an elegant all-white outfit for the investiture ceremony.
Glamorous Arrival at Windsor Castle
The 52-year-old looked glamorous in a white blazer and flowing trousers, paired with a matching feathered hat. She grinned widely as she showed off her official medal, awarded for her services to drama, after the ceremony.
Lindsay, also a Loose Women panellist, was announced as a recipient of the MBE in the New Year Honours list at the end of 2025, alongside Idris Elba, Meera Syal, and Cynthia Erivo.
Dedicating the Honour to Working-Class People
At the time of the announcement, she proudly dedicated her new title to working-class people in the industry, stating: "I am extremely honoured to receive this award for services to drama. Throughout my career I have met incredible people, made life-long friends and worked on many memorable projects. I would like to dedicate this award to the rest of the 8% of working class people who make up my industry and hope in the future there will be many more of us."
Lindsay continued this stance when she arrived at Windsor to pick up her medal. She told PA after the ceremony: "It’s been quite overwhelming actually, because obviously you work really hard all your career, and you look back and it seems like yesterday that you started. It’s wonderful to be recognised for that – I feel like many other people should be as well, but I’m just very lucky to be here today."
Emphasising Representation in the Industry
"For me, personally, the meaning for this is quite deep," she continued. "I come from a very working-class background and unfortunately it’s decreasing, the working-classes in our industry, as in there’s only 8%, 9% of us in front or behind the camera. And I’d really like to accept this on behalf of all of us who got here and stayed here, and I wish there [were] more of us because I think our stories need to be told."
Emphasising the importance of representation on and behind our screens, she added: "There are so many actors from a very privileged background with working-class accents in films now, or on television – which is fine, we’re actors. But there are so many stories of the working classes that need to be told. We’re really missing a trick here, because we are the artists, we are the ones who are creators, we are the ones that change things because our experiences are so different and wildly eclectic."
"This is the country where an accent can change within three miles. Now look at those stories that could be told, and we’re keeping that away and it’s not fair," she added. "Everything’s not Bridgerton."
