WIRRAL-based radio presenter and entertainer Pete Price is to receive a top civic honour from Liverpool City Council.

The 71-year-old was nominated for Citizen of Honour in recognition of his 50 years in showbusiness and his charity work and will receive the award at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday.

The comedian, actor, panto star and broadcaster shot to fame in the 1970s when he won the ITV talent programme New Faces, and went on to star in many more TV appearances and travel the world as a stand-up comic.

On his award, the Radio City presenter said today: "Liverpool has been my life. It gave me the opportunity and platform to be who I am today.

"It has had some dark times, but now, as I always have been, I am proud to talk about Liverpool.

"People sometimes ask why I live on the Wirral, but from my lounge every day I have the best view of the city, overlooking one of the most iconic waterfronts in the world.

"I never take for granted the city or the people, and apart from this new honour, one of my biggest achievements was being made an honorary scouser.

"Thank you Liverpool for giving me so much."

After a stint at the BBC, working for Radio Merseyside, Radio One and the World Service, Pete started working for Radio City and has been almost a permanent fixture ever since, presenting a late night talk show since the 1990s which now goes out every Sunday night across Radio City 2 and Radio City Talk.

Over the years he has broken many big news stories, including the horrific murder of James Bulger where he reflected city's grief on media outlets around the world.

He also generated global headlines of Last night a DJ saved my life, when he left his radio studio in search of a 12 year old boy who had called and said he planned to end his own life.

Pete is openly gay and has spoken out about the aversion therapy treatment he received in the 1960s in which doctors used electrodes to "treat" homosexuality, which was illegal at that time.

Pete's passion for Liverpool was taken to a new level five years ago when he began travelling to Singapore selling the city on the world stage as part of a project called "The Best of British".

Among the many charities he works continually for is Claire House Children’s Hospice in Wirral, of which he is a patron.

Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, said: "Pete Price is an institution, loudly passionate about Liverpool because he genuinely cares about the city and its people.

"He has used his fame and his phone in to rightly shine a spotlight on many difficult issues as well as speaking out against homophobia, bullying and highlighting mental health issues.

"I am delighted to be able to confer the Citizen of Honour award on him."

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: "Pete Price has been a fixture of Liverpool life for generations and this honour is much deserved.

"The list of people he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing, but he is so much more than that.

"He has spent a lifetime not just making people laugh by entertaining them, but also using his radio programme to speak up for those who can't be heard.

"He has also been an incredible roving ambassador for Liverpool – he is the city through and through and it is right and proper that we recognise his significant contribution by awarding him Citizen of Honour."