Brummie comedian Jasper Carrott has said he will accept his OBE on behalf of all the "amazing" charity fundraisers he has worked alongside.

The comedian and actor has been awarded a OBE for his services to charity, including the NSPCC, the Variety Club and a number of local West Midlands causes.

Carrott, 57, has come a long way from his roots as the proprietor of Solihull folk club The Boggery, where he used to entertain audiences with his comedic guitar playing.

He has performed his stand-up act to millions of fans around the world and has dedicated a great deal of time to raising money for charity.

'Thrilled'

But he has also amassed an estimated �50m personal fortune with his wife Hazel, thanks to their stake in the television production company Celador, which makes Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Carrott said he was "thrilled but humbled" to receive an OBE.

"I also feel slightly sheepish about it when I consider that so many people have done so much more and have gone unrecognised," he said.

Much of Carrott's TV comedy is sketch-based

"I don't consider myself to be the sole recipient of this award - rather, I'm accepting it on behalf of all the amazing people I have worked with on these projects."

Born Robert Davies, he picked up the nickname Jasper at school and added the Carrott himself for his stage name.

He no longer gets called Bob by anyone, including his family.

Hs big break came in the mid-70s when he scored a surprise chart hit with the novelty record Funky Moped, which featured the X-rated B-side Magic Roundabout.

Observational wit

Following a series of one-off TV specials, Carrott was given his own Saturday night show, Carrott's Lib, which ran for seven years.

He then worked with rubber-faced comedian Phil Cool.

In 1993, the series Canned Carrott spawned the spin-off sit-com The Detectives, which also starred Robert Powell and George Sewell.

Carrott has rarely been off television screens since his career took off in the 1970s, and has remained a favourite on the comedy circuit for his observational wit.

He recently took up acting again in the BBC sitcom All About Me, alongside actress and writer Meera Syal.

The BBC show, about life in a mixed-race Birmingham family as seen through the eyes of a teenager with cerebral palsy, was seen as groundbreaking because it raised laughs through the taboo subjects of race and disability.

He has also recently made his West End debut in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.

Carrott's daughter, Lucy Davies, has found TV success of her own playing receptionist Dawn in the hit comedy The Office.

In 1997 she underwent a life-saving operation when she received a kidney from her mother Hazel.

Carrott is also patron of Sunfield in Clent, near Stourbridge, a special school for severely autistic children.