Good Morning Britain star Martin Lewis reveals he needs to return his OBE - here’s why

Good Morning Britain star Martin Lewis has stunned his followers on Twitter after revealing that he’s been forced to return his OBE after having it ‘taken’ off him.

The finance journalist and TV personality has become a regular face on screen, dishing out his finest money-saving advice on the show.

Martin, who is also The MoneySavingExpert.com founder, was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to consumer rights and to charitable services.

But the real reason he has to return his honorary award is not because of anything controversial, but because he received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours for his contributions to broadcasting and consumer rights.

CBE or Commander of the British Empire is the highest ranking Order of the British Empire award (excluding a knighthood/damehood), followed by OBE and MBE.

In early 2022, Martin was awarded a CBE for services to broadcasting and consumer rights in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

On Monday (October 10), he shared a photo of his OBE honour on Twitter and wrote: "They’re taking my OBE off me! Yep, I got a letter saying now I have been upgraded to a CBE, I need to send the OBE back."

His post, which has gained over 50,000 likes,  prompted well-wishes from his followers who said they were ‘relieved’ to know the actual reason behind it.

One said: “Ooof! Glad I read past the first line!!! I was about to go ballistic!”

Another said: “Fantastic - well deserved. Thanks for all your hard work to help as many people as possible.”

Later on, Martin explained that he had actually received the CBE ‘a while ago’ from King Charles III, who was known as Prince Charles then.

He said: “Thanks for all the lovely congrats tweets. I actually got the CBE a while ago from King Charles (then Prince Charles) - this is just me getting the letter asking for the OBE back :).”