Hugh Laurie has his teenage son to thank for his Order Of The British Empire (OBE) medal - because he seriously considered turning the honour down. The House star admits he "agonised" about the accolade after he was first offered it by Buckingham Palace officials, and it took his son to make him see sense. He recalls, "They give you notice that they're going to offer it and they send you a letter saying, 'If we were to offer this to you, would you fling it back in our faces publicly?' and you have to tick the box. "I sort of thought, 'Some people think it's not a good thing to do and some people do,' and my son said, 'You'd have to be so up yourself not to accept that.' "I thought that was such a good response. In the same way some people can take royalty too seriously, it's also possible to take yourself too seriously... I am very honoured."