Fry judges Blue Plaque honour

Stephen Fry, the author, presenter, actor and director, added a new string

Fry has joined English Heritage's 11-strong Blue Plaque panel which judges which historical figures are commemorated with an inscribed tablet outside
their former homes.

He hopes his 'genuine enthusiasm' will help in meetings held four times a
year with fellow panel members including Loyd Grossman and Dr David Starkey.

Standing next to the central London plaque for one of his heroes, the writer PG Wodehouse, Fry said: 'I understand from friends that the meetings are very invigorating and it is not a big test.'

Apart from his passion for history, classical music and literature, Fry is
looking forward to learning more about stories of achievement in other fields such as science and medicine.

He said: 'Everyone has been in the back of a car and seen a plaque to someone remarkable and thought "I wonder who he was".

'It is just a connection between the country that we live in, where we work, and sometimes moan...and things which happen there that are remarkable because it's history.'

More than 750 Blue Plaques have been installed marking the wide-ranging achievements of people such as politician Sir Winston Churchill, writer Agatha Christie, rock star Jimmy Hendrix and Madame Tussaud.

Nominees for a plaque must have been dead for at least 20-years.