Martin Scorsese to be honoured with BAFTA Fellowship

Martin Scorsese will receive the British Academy Fellowship at the annual BAFTA awards, which are being held in London on 12 February.

The Fellowship is the Academy's highest accolade and it is being awarded to the film director for his contribution to the industry.

Scorsese, whose latest film 'Hugo' has been a critically-acclaimed success, said: "It is a great honour to be recognised by the British Academy and to join the ranks of such an esteemed group of industry colleagues and friends."

The 69-year-old has picked up nine BAFTA nominations for his directing work and won the accolade for 'Goodfellas' in 1991.

He finally won a Best Director Oscar, after being nominated on five previous occasions, for 'The Departed' in 2007, starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon.

Other titles directed by Scorsese include ' Taxi Driver', 'Gangs of New York' and 'Shutter Island'.

Previous winners of the Fellowship include Christopher Lee, who was given the honour in 2011, while directors Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg have also won the award.