Rolf Harris stripped of ARIA, BAFTAs honours.

Rolf Harris has been stripped of his ARIA Hall of Fame honour following his conviction of child sex charges -the first to be kicked out.

ARIA had previously declined to comment on the case but CEO Dan Rosen said in a statement, “Following his conviction in UK courts, the ARIA Board has made the decision to withdraw the ARIA Hall of Fame award bestowed upon Rolf Harris.

“He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 for his contribution to the Australian recorded music industry.”

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts also removed Harris’ Fellowship honours.

A BAFTA statement said, “The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has made the decision to annul the BAFTA Fellowship bestowed upon Rolf Harris in 2012 following his conviction.”

Harris has also received a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2006 after previously holding OBE (Order) and MBE (Member) honours and famously painted a portrait of the Queen.

On Friday Harris is expected to be firstly taken to Wandsworth Jail in south west London, the same jail that Hey Dad star Robert Hughes was taken to when he was arrested in London of child sex charges ahead of his extradition.

It’s unlikely Harris will serve the maximum available sentence of 24 years due to his age and a range of health complaints including having had a minor stroke, two stents in arteries, bad legs, diabetes and suffering vertigo, but celebrity publicist Max Clifford, 71, was last month sentenced to eight years with a non-parole of four years for eight counts of indecent assault.

Source: themusic.com.au, news.com.au