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Armando Iannucci

Date of birth: 30-11-1963

Half-Italian, half-Scottish Armando Iannucci abandoned his Oxford graduate studies in English to take up a career in broadcasting - and has since become one of the most important catalysts in bringing comedy to the screen.

He started his career in the early Nineties as a radio producer, working on The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Quote... Unquote, The News Quiz and On The Hour. This spoof news show transferred to TV as The Day Today and spawned Alan Partridge, whose award-winning shows on TV and radio Iannucci produced and co-wrote.

Iannucci has also fronted his own satirical shows, including The Saturday (or Friday) Night Armistice on BBC Two, his self-titled show on Channel 4 and his Radio 4 show Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive. He is also a regular on Radio 4 panel shows such as The News Quiz and The 99p Challenge and has worked on a number of Radio 3 shows, because of his passion for classical music.

More recently, he created the political satire The Thick Of It, about a beleaguered Minister trying to cope with the pressure imposed by his army of spin doctors, and the spoof clip show Time Trumpet.

In 2006, he was made Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at Oxford University, and was appointed as a BBC executive to develop new comedy shows.

He is also a columnist for The Observer, and a collection of his earlier newspaper work for the Telegraph and the Guardian was published in a 1997 collection, Facts And Fancies, which was also adapted for a Radio 4 series.

Iannucci has also directed a number of TV commercials, for clients incluting Nationwide.

Armando Iannucci to write the next Paddington movie

Probably without any Malcolm Tucker-style outbursts!

He’s probably best known for helping create the very sweary No10 spin doctor Malcolm Tucker.

And now it has been announced that Armando Iannucci will be writing the next adventure for a rather milder-mannered creature –Paddington.

The creator of Veep and The Thick Of It will be collaborating with his regular writing partner Simon Blackwell on the fourth big-screen outing for the Peruvian bear.

Blackwell is also known for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain on Peep Show, writing the comedy series Back, starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, and creating Breeders with Chris Addison and its star Martin Freeman.

It's also been reported by Variety that Dougal Wilson will direct the film. He also helmed 2024's third instalment, Paddington In Peru, below, taking over from Paul King.

Paddington

King also wrote the first two Paddington movies, with Ghosts star Simon Farnaby collaborating on the second. A team comprising Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont penned the third.

Iannucci can currently be seen on Channel 4’s Taskmaster (pictured, top) and hosts the Radio 4 programme and podcast Strong Message Here about manipulative political language.

Peter Capaldi – who played Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It, below – previously appeared in the first two Paddington films as Mr Curry, the mean-spirited neighbour of the Brown family that takes in the lost bear.

Malcolm Tucker