Walliams keeps royal appointment

David Walliams joked that he should have come in costume

Little Britain star David Walliams has met the Queen at Buckingham Palace at a reception for top British achievers.

Actress Thandie Newton, artist Antony Gormley and equestrian Zara Phillips - voted the BBC's sports personality of the year - were also present.

Walliams joked that his royal host said Little Britain was her favourite show.

"No she didn't," he added. "But she acknowledged it." Walliams said they also discussed his recent charity swim across the English Channel.

"She said: 'Were you covered in lard?' I said: 'Yes, but it's not as much fun as it looks' and she laughed."

'So lovely'

Newton, who starred in Oscar-winning film Crash, said afterwards: "The Queen hoped we were having a good time. She's so lovely I just wanted to hug her."

Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, was accompanied by her rugby player boyfriend Mike Tindall.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were also treated to a performance by the Singing Estate Choir.

Its members, from the Blackbird Leys Estate in Oxford, were trained for three months to become a classical music choir for a show on TV channel Five.