Stephen Fry shares how he would like to be addressed now he has a knighthood
Stephen Fry has shared on The Jonathan Ross Show how he wants people to address him now that he has received a knighthood.
In December 2024, Fry said he was “startled and enchanted” to be awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours and hopes it sets an example that there is “always hope”.
The actor, screenwriter and author was recognised for services to mental health awareness, the environment and to charity.
Fry, 67, has been president of the charity Mind since 2011 and has been Vice-President of conservation charity Fauna and Flora International since 2009.
Since 1991, the Jeeves and Wooster star and former QI host has also worked with the Terence Higgins Trust, raising awareness and funds for people with HIV and Aids.
After being asked about his knighthood on Saturday’s show (22 March), Fry teased how he would like to be addressed from now on. “Just Sir is fine…” joked the Blackadder star.
Speaking more seriously, Fry said he is still waiting to be knighted, telling the host: “I haven’t actually been knighted yet. It’s quite soon. I can’t deny, it’s very exciting. If you’re going to accept it, you can’t then be all British and pretend and throw it off.”
Fry added: “I don’t insist people call me Sir. It’s weird, partly because I still think of myself, as most people do, as around about 15 years old, when I was a destructive, terrible child, expelled from schools, ended up in prison, a nightmare for my parents… so for my mother she is beaming like a lighthouse as you can imagine. Finally feels like I’m not such a screw-up as I was.”
Elsewhere, when speaking about his acting career, Fry said: “When I first did it, I was too self-conscious and that’s the bane of any performance. If you’re aware of yourself. You can see it in people. If you see the wheels going around, it’s gone. It took me far longer than a natural actor to get used to it. It’s a phenomenal job. It’s a wonderful thing to be asked to do.”
Other guests on the episode include The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood, Comedian Joanna McNally and rapper Big Zuu. Music came courtesy of Yungblud.
Watch The Jonathan Ross Show, Saturday at 9:20PM ON ITV1, ITVX, STV AND STV Player.
