JK Rowling, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley topped a list of the top 40 people Brits want to see made a knight or a dame.
The Harry Potter author, who is set to release four new eBooks next month giving fans a chance to read more about the ‘wizarding world’, came top with one in five Brits saying she should be given the honour.
A further one in six Brits would like to see Stephen Fry pick up the title, while Joanna Lumley was another popular choice.
Other stars Brits would love to see take the honour include Paul O’Grady, David Walliams and Dawn French.
The research was commissioned by TV channel HISTORY, to launch series two of historical fiction drama Knightfall, starting Tuesday 2nd July at 9pm.
A spokesperson said: “Many Brits believe a knighthood is the ultimate honour, and it’s no surprise to see national treasures like Stephen Fry and JK Rowling at the top of our list.
“They’ve both contributed enormously to society, and appear to be hardworking and decent people, which the public values greatly.
“However, the British public willing something doesn’t always make it so, as there is a very complicated procedure in place to make people knights or dames.”
JK Rowling has already been given the Order of the Companion of Honour, appearing in the Queen’s birthday list in 2017, but is yet to make full dame-hood.
Just under a tenth also think David Beckham should finally be made a Sir.
Forty-five per cent of those polled believe a knight or damehood is the highest honour a person can possibly have.
Four in 10 say in order to earn one, the recipient must have done something that betters mankind.
A quarter think that person must be a good role model for children, and 36 like their knights or dames to have performed an incredible act of bravery.
One in five want their knights and dames to make them feel ‘proud to be British’.
Twenty per cent of the population confess to looking forward to the lists of honours coming out each year, so they can see if their favourites made it.
However, not all Brits agree with the concept of knighthoods, with 35 per cent of respondents believing women should be knighted exactly the same as men, rather than being made dames.
And almost half of the population think the entire concept is ‘old fashioned’, with 29 per cent saying they’d turn down the offer it if was given to them.
Thirty-two per cent even say they respect those that have been offered a knighthood and turned it down, such as scientist Stephen Hawking.
Three quarters of Brits polled via OnePoll.com also confess to having no idea what the differences are between a CBE, OBE and MBE.
HISTORY’s spokesman added: “The concept of knighthoods is something with deep roots in British HISTORY.
“But while knights like the ones in our show Knightfall do things very differently to knights and dames today, often they have many similar attributes.
“Honour and respect are traits that are just as important now as they were centuries ago.”
The top 40 people Brits want to see made a knight or a dame
