Scottish satirist Armando Iannucci and broadcast journalist Sally Magnusson are to join Scotland’s National Academy for learning, it has been announced.
As part of their latest intake, Iannucci, 60, and Magnusson, 68, will be among the 57 fellows to join the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) this year.
The RSE has a Fellowship of 1800 people from science, the arts, business, sports, civil society and academia working in or with organisations in Scotland.
Iannucci has been elected as an honorary fellow for his satirical work, writing, directing and producing.
He is responsible for movies such as In the Loop, The Death of Stalin, The Personal History of David Copperfield, as well as the BAFTA-winning BBC satire series The Thick of It.
READ MORE:
- Armando Iannucci says Government policies ‘are putting more people into poverty’
- Thick of It writer Iannucci ridicules 'beyond satire PM' Johnson
Speaking about his inclusion in the RSE’s list, Iannucci said it was a source of inspiration to keep making people laugh with his work.
He said: “I am thrilled to be elected to the fellowship of the RSE; this is confirmation from the champions of the highest standards of academic and cultural excellence in Scotland that writing jokes is an honourable pursuit.
“This recognition will spur me on to make more people laugh louder, longer and harder than ever before, and will always remind me that it’s as equally important to make people think as well as laugh. I promise to do my best.”
Broadcaster and journalist Magnusson was elected for her charity work, including her dementia charity, Playlist for Life.
She said: “It’s a tremendous honour to be elected as a fellow.
“The RSE has a centuries-old history as Scotland’s national academy and I’m proud to belong to it.
“I look forward to playing my part in its longstanding mission to deploy knowledge for public good.”
Just last week, Magnusson took part in an event in Dunfermline that saw her bring a special version of Mastermind to the area, raising £23,000 in the process.
READ MORE: Why East Dunbartonshire is the 'perfect place' for Sally Magnusson
Magnusson started her charity in 2013 when her mother Mamie passed away after a battle with dementia. Her charity aims to use unique music playlists to help people living with the disease get rid of anxiety and evoke memories that can help their families and carers connect.
Other new fellows include Professor Jason Gill, professor of cardiometabolic health at the University of Glasgow, who was elected for his contributions to the prevention and management of vascular, metabolic, and chronic diseases.
He said: “The broad and multi-disciplinary nature of the society has never been more important, given the complex nature of the challenges facing society which increasingly require solutions involving collaboration across disciplines and sectors.”
Professor Elham Kashefi, of the University of Edinburgh and chief scientist at the UK National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), has also been announced as a new fellow.
She said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to utilise the RSE’s platform to bring the quantum wave beyond our academic circles, influencing policymakers.”
Professor David Croisdale-Appleby, health and social care expert, chair of both the Royal College of Physicians and Dementia UK, was elected as an honorary fellow.
President of the society, Professor Sir John Ball, said: “It is an immense honour to extend a warm welcome to each of our distinguished new fellows.
“Individually, they embody exceptional dedication and accomplishment spanning multiple sectors and disciplines.
“Collectively, they demonstrate a profound commitment and determination to make meaningful contributions through their endeavours.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here