Edinburgh historic institution welcomes 'Thick of It' creator Armando Iannucci as fellow

The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci is among the latest intake of fellows announced by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy for learning.

He is one of 57 fellows, also including broadcaster Sally Magnusson, to join the society this year. The RSE counts about 1,800 fellows in its ranks, from fields as diverse as the sciences, literature, law and business.

Armando Iannucci says his election to the Royal Society of Edinburgh is confirmation that writing jokes is an honourable pursuit

Iannucci has been elected as an honorary fellow for his satirical work, writing, directing and producing.

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 remind me at all times that it's as equally important to make people think as well as laugh. I promise to do my best."

Sally 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. 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."

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, and Professor Elham Kashefi, of the University of Edinburgh and chief scientist at the UK National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC).

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."