Charles worthington awarded mbe for services to hairdressing

Media favourite Charles, who has four salons in London and a hugely popular consumer product range, was made an MBE in 2006. Why do you think you received the award? The MBE was awarded to me for services to hairdressing. I have always recognised how important it is to give back in life, and share your knowledge with others. This is something I have done with my team, so I share this great accolade wholeheartedly with them. What did you do to get it? You are not informed of why, but I'm sure it must be a combination of many things that I have done and been involved with in our industry. How did it feel when you found out? I found out on my birthday, while on a beach in the Turks and Caicos. The letter was presented to me over breakfast, so to say I was lost for words is an understatement. I had to read it through a couple of times before it sank in and was overwhelmed with excitement and shock. The frustrating thing is that when you first find out you are not allowed to tell anyone until it is made official, which is really difficult! Is it important that hairdressers get recognised? British hairdressing has been a huge part of my life and I believe passionately that our industry is the best in the world, therefore any recognition that heightens the profile of British hairdressing is a great thing. Who would you like to see get an award? I work closely with the charity Look Good Feel Better and recently filmed a DVD for them. The work the team do there is selfless and the ladies who agreed to be a part of this project to help and support other cancer sufferers like themselves were truly inspiring. They are the unsung heroes in my eyes who deserve all of our recognition.