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Caitlin Moran and Jordanne Whiley named among most influential people in 2016

The Black Country's wheelchair tennis ace Jordanne Whiley and award-winning author Caitlin Moran have been named among the nation's most influential people in 2016.

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The annual Debrett's 500 list includes a host of personalities across 23 different categories, including sport, music, fashion and politics.

Names such as Boris Johnson, Simon Cowell and Jamie Oliver are regularly featured by the publishers of a number of etiquette guides, with Halesowen star Jordanne Whiley on the list this year.

Aged just 23, she is Britain's most decorated tennis player of all time having won seven grand slams, including the US Open singles title in September last year.

Jordanne who suffers from brittle bone disease like her Paralympian father Keith, also became Britain's youngest ever national singles champion when she was 14.

She now has her sights on the singles and doubles events at the Rio Olympics and Wimbledon, which will host a singles event for wheelchair tennis for the first time this year.

Jordanne, who received an MBE from the Princess Royal in 2015, said she was honoured to be included in the Debrett's 500 list.

She wrote on Twitter: "So honoured to be named amongst the #Debretts500."

Meanwhile, journalist, author and broadcaster Caitlin Moran, who was raised in Wolverhampton, has been described as 'arguably the funniest writer of her generation' by Debrett's.

Her work includes TV sitcom Raised by Wolves, which was written with sister her Caroline and is based on their upbringing in Enville Road, Warstones. It has been renewed for a second series later this year.

Her book How To Be A Woman was a bestseller and won Book of the Year at the Galaxy National Book Awards in 2011. The full list is at www.debretts.com

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