We apologise for being late with our Gentlemen of the Year 2014, it should have been in January, but we had a long debate about who should be on our list and have finally narrowed it down. Phew! This is our third annual Gentlemen of the Year, there are a lot of new entries and a couple of returning ones.
There is no particular order to our Gentlemen of the Year, the criteria demands that they have shown ‘Gentlemanly’ behaviour in accordance with the principles of the Perfect Gentlemen ethos, values and manifesto. We have broadened our criteria this year to include non-celebrities, though we are still struggling to find shining examples of business and political gentlemen! Hopefully there will be some in this years list.
Eddie Redmayne
2014 has certainly been his year, with a triumphant performance in The Theory of Everything. He has been humble and self-effacing with all his success, which certainly puts him on this list, but two things made him fly up our rankings. Firstly, his love of suits, he is always dapper no matter what the occasion and most importantly his romantic and chivalrous behaviour with all ladies but especially his wife, Hannah Bagshawe.
Eddie is grounded, stylish, romantic and charming. One of the new great British acting gentlemen of the last decade.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
The first American on our list might surprise some, but to us Dwayne epitomises essential gentlemanly traits. He is hard working, determined and generous with his time and energy.
This year he joins this list for his tributes to those who passed, his care of his mother, the devotion he shows to his fans and the way he uses his positivity in TV, hosting such shows as The Hero & Wake Up Call. On top of that he is always willing to make fun of himself and his personality; he even played patty cake with a little girl dressed as Hercules!
Nicholas Parsons
The oldest Gentleman on our list maybe one of the most sprightly, apart from ‘The Rock’. This man is 91 years old and still hosts the BBC radio show ‘Just a Minute’, which has been running since 1967, on which he has not missed an episode.
He makes our list this year for many reasons, his sprightly mind, still performing live on stage, but mainly this year for standing up for the Cravat (or Ascots to our american friends). He said that the cravat should make a comeback, we agree, perhaps that is the reason for his longevity…
Stephen Sutton
Is a name now known to millions of people around the world after his tireless charity work right up until he passed away in May 2014. Stephen managed to help raise over £4 million pounds for Teenage Cancer Trust. All of this and the young man had not reached his 20th Birthday.
His unselfish devotion to raising money, knowing that he would never see it used was the act of a true gentleman.
Ricky Wilson
A strange choice you might think for the rocking lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, but with his love of blazers, waistcoats and his all round good behaviour, he gathered our attention.
What has stood out for us at PGHQ is his amazing level of chivalry, he is always on hand to escort ladies down the steps on ‘The Voice’ UK and is the first person to hand any of the crying artists his handkerchief.
He is not the bad boy but the Gentlemen of Rock!
