While we shiver in Britain the stars are splashing out in the sun

SHE may have left The Street, but you can't take the Cor out of an ex-Corrie babe...

Here's TV beauty Angela Lonsdale battling an almighty swell—and losing half her top mast.

Angela, who played Curly Watts' wife Emma in the ITV soap, got into trouble as she frolicked in the Caribbean with fiancé Perry Fenwick, better known as EastEnders' Billy Mitchell.

One onlooker told us: "No one was too upset about seeing Angela pop out of her bikini. She has curves any woman would be proud of.

"When she realised what had happened she looked embarrassed. But Perry gave her a kiss and they had a laugh." Angela accidentally made waves during a Christmas Barbados getaway.

At least we know Perry won't be lost for something to hang his baubles on!

Suranna's stocking filler

CORRIE beauty Suranne Jones landed her best Christmas present ever yesterday—a £750,000 deal to launch her into big-time drama.

The stunner—set to leave her soap role as feisty factory lass Karen McDonald—tied up the glittering contract with Granada bosses anxious to keep her with the network.

They've promised to turn 25-year-old Suranne into the new Sarah Lancashire—another former Street favourite who carved out a career away from Weatherfield.

Lead

Scriptwriters are pencilling in the busty actress as a potential lead in no less than EIGHTdramas.

A Granada insider said: "Suranne was brilliant as Karen McDonald. We were devastated when she wanted to leave Coronation Street.

"But she wants to stay with ITV so we've been working on projects that will suit her."

Suranne flies home today from a break in Sydney with her on-and-off lover Jonathan Wrather—who played Joe Carter in Corrie. She will begin work on her first drama in January.

The brunette is set to leave the soap today. After Steve tells Karen it's over she walks out in a fit of depression.

But there's nothing depressing about Suranne's future. "The deal they offered me was too good to turn down," she said. "I'm staying with ITV and it's all good."

EXCLUSIVE: New Year's Honours

Oar-rise Sir Matt

AWESOME oarsman Matthew Pinsent will receive a knighthood in the New Year Honours List, theNews of the World can exclusively reveal.

The four-times Olympic champion, who retired from rowing in November, heads a host of athletes in line for gongs for their heroics at last summer's Olympic Games in Greece.

Track queen Kelly Holmes is tipped to pick up a CBE and Britain's winning 4x100m men's relay team will also be honoured.

The announcement caps a triumphant year for Matthew, 34, who led his boat to glorious victory in a thrilling coxless fours final in Athens.

The old Etonian broke down in tears (right) on the winners' rostrum after beating Canada into second place.

He said then: "I wasn't crying before I crossed the line—that all starts once the race is over. You'd think these things would get easier fourth time around—but they never do."

The 6ft 5ins rower was first made an MBE in 1993 and upgraded to a CBE in 2000 after he won his third Olympic gold. Now, he has swapped his oar for a microphone as he continues with his TV and radio commitments.

He is also involved in London's 2012 Olympic bid. His team-mates from the Athens Games—James Cracknell, Steve Williams and Ed Coode—will also receive rewards.

As Matthew celebrates his award, double gold medallist Kelly Holmes will also be cheering the end of an amazing year. In Athens she stunned the world with wins in the 800m and 1500m finals and, just a fortnight ago she beat Matthew to scoop the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Kelly, 34, is expected to be upgraded from an MBE to a CBE—but insiders say she may even be in the running to become a DAME.

In an exclusive interview with the News of the World two weeks ago, Kelly revealed: "Any honour from the Queen would be just wonderful.

"But for a girl like me, who was brought up in a humble council house, to be made Dame Kelly Holmes would be amazing.

"I've heard people say it could happen in the New Year Honours and just thought, ‘Oh my God'."

The former army sergeant added: "I got an MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, but that was for services to the British Army. I've never been honoured as an athlete."

It's not just Britain's sporting heroes up for awards.

Prime Minister Tony Blair will also court controversy by rewarding civil servants, diplomats and business leaders for their work in Iraq.

More than 50 awards are to be given to those who have spent the past year working in Iraq, rebuilding parts of the southern sector of the country controlled by British forces.

Sir David Omand, the national security co-ordinator responsible for overseeing the intelligence services, is understood to be in line for a reward. Jane Marriott—who was at the centre of government assessments about Saddam's arsenal as head of the Foreign Office's nuclear proliferation department—is another.

On the domestic front, retiring head of the Metropolitan Police Service Sir John Stevens is expected to receive a seat in the House of Lords after he leaves his job early in the New Year.