Honest, cheerful status (10)
I believe the answer is:
upstanding
'honest' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cheerful status' is the wordplay.
'cheerful' becomes 'up' (I've seen this in other clues).
'status' becomes 'standing' (standing is a kind of status).
'up'+'standing'='UPSTANDING'
(Other definitions for upstanding that I've seen before include "Honest, respectable; erect" , "Ready for toast" , "as we must be when the judge appears!" .)