Fellowship for comic actor Pegg

Simon Pegg made his name with a one man show at the Edinburgh Festival

Comic actor Simon Pegg is to receive an honorary fellowship from the University of Gloucestershire for his "significant contribution to the arts".

The Shaun of the Dead star, 38, from Gloucester, will receive the award at a ceremony at the Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, on Thursday.

He is one of Britain's most successful comic actors with several film hits.

International war photojournalist Donald McCullin CBE will also receive an honorary doctorate of letters.

Since his acclaimed one man show at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, Pegg has been at the forefront of British comedy.

Born in Gloucester in 1970, he attended the Brockworth Comprehensive School before studying drama at the University of Bristol.

War coverage

He moved to London in the early 1990s and performed on the stand-up comedy circuit for many years.

In 1999 Pegg created and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.

Since then he co-wrote and starred in the hit films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Run Fatboy Run, as well as numerous guest appearances in other television series and films.

Mr McCullin is to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in recognition of his internationally-regarded photojournalism, particularly for his war photography and images of urban strife.

Following his period of National Service where he worked as a photographer's assistant, he became an overseas correspondent for the Sunday Times Magazine.

There he photographed and recorded war zones and epidemics. His coverage of the Vietnam War and Northern Ireland conflict is particularly highly regarded.

He received the World Press Photo Award in 1964 for his coverage of the war in Cyprus and in 1993 was awarded a CBE, the first photojournalist to receive the honour.

Some 2,600 graduates will be presented with their degrees at the ceremony.