Vulgarity is undoubtedly Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes’ trademark. “Nigel Farage? I think he’s a c***!” barks the 85-year-old, with her customary potty mouth. I think he’s wicked, dangerous, a liar. He’s anti everything except himself.” All said with a twinkle in her eye that suggests this is a well-rehearsed performance.
For Miriam’s first British screen credit, playing Rita in Theatre 625 was in 1965, and 61 years later, aged 85, she is still a fully fledged commercial success. On September 3 she is releasing her fourth book – she has three bestsellers – Miriam’s Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits.
She admits:” I only started writing five years ago and I’ve made more money from my books than via my entire acting career. Isn’t that madness?
“I’m not sure I’d have written a fourth so soon, but I was offered a very good advance by the publishing company. I wanted to write something about the state of the world. I’ve kept in the filth because that sells the book.”
Clearly, Miriam is nobody’s fool. Her image as a farting, foul-mouthed octogenarian, like the filth in her book, sells. But, despite her insistence that she wants to eschew her political views with all the subtlety of a shock jock, sitting in the townhouse in Clapham, south west London, which she has owned since 1973, her mask slips.
The mention of Heather Sutherland, the retired Australian professor who’s been her partner for nearly 60 years – they entered into a civil partnership in 2013 – brings out a tenderness not often displayed in public. For most of their relationship they lived in separate countries – Miriam in London and Heather in Amsterdam – which Miriam believes is the secret to their lasting bond.
But plans are in place now for them to finally live together full-time as they grow older. Miriam says: “I don’t like talking about my partner, because she doesn’t like my talking about her.
“She’s a private individual, nothing to do in any way with showbusiness or anything like that. “I was introduced to her by an old school friend, who happened to be Australian. But she brings me joy. Along with my friends, my talent and doing a show.”
The actress has built a loyal fan base across six decades, during which she has played Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter series, the Nurse in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, and Mrs Mingott in The Age of Innocence, for which she won a BAFTA.
Her unfiltered views also earned her the accolade of “all-time favourite guest” on the Graham Norton show. But Miriam, who grew up in Oxford, softens once more when she reveals how she caught the acting bug from her mother, Ruth.
She says: “Mummy loved singing and playing and dancing and acting, and she was really good. But because she was a nice Jewish girl, you couldn’t go on the stage, that was for whores. “She could play the piano beautifully. And she was in the finals of the Golden Voice competition of 1936.”
Meanwhile, Miriam’s one-woman show – Full English Live – kicks off in Swansea on Tuesday. She lights up, as she says: “I love the fact that it’s proof that people like me, because when I come on, they roar with affection. It makes me less frightened, and it immediately releases happiness. Then I can give them something to make them laugh.”
While she insists she is “fundamentally narcissistic,” she continues: “I also have a lot to offer, and I want to be at the service of people.”
Miriam has spinal stenosis, which makes walking and standing incredibly painful. She continues: “I can’t get out as much as I did – can’t walk, can’t really drive much, although I do a bit. But I’m really crippled. Because of that, I don’t meet people. So when I go out and do the shows, I meet people.”
Miriam’s more contemplative persona persists, as she returns to politics and the state of the country. She says: “I’ve always looked back. Seldom look forward. And I am frightened about what’s coming.”
As a Jewish woman in a same sex relationship, Miriam also feels the UK is a difficult place to be “other” at the moment. She says: “The parallels between now and how things were before the Second World War are clear to see. We shouldn’t be afraid of the other. We wouldn’t be the best at anything if we didn’t have immigrants. We need immigrants. Immigrants bring so much to our country, to all our countries. They’re not a threat to us. They’re a plus.”
A lifelong Labour supporter, Miriam says she feels Andy Burnham’s appointment as Prime Minister at least brings hope. She says: “I’m grateful Burnham has got in because it’s giving Labour a chance. He appears to be bringing the H-word back – hope – to a lot of the country who feel like they have been left behind.
“He’s got a voice, a Northern one. He feels real. The most important thing is that we don’t have fascists running the country. I’m really scared Farage will get in one day as PM – it frightens me. It’s what keeps me up at night. He’s worse than the bogeyman. It’s sort of unbelievable that people would vote for him.”
Turning her thoughts to her acting career, Miriam, who also starred in Blackadder, says: “I think the role that gave people the most joy was Lady Whiteadder, but people ask me the most about Harry Potter. People remember because it was in their childhood. “
Miriam also starred as Aunt Sponge in James and the Giant Peach, voiced Fly in Babe and won critical acclaim for her role in 2025 comedy drama, A Friend of Dorothy, alongside Stephen Fry and Alistair Nwachukwu. She says: “I’ve worked with so many brilliant people. I don’t have favourites. Every person I have ever worked with I have either loved or hated. But I can tell you who the best kisser was, and that was Bob Monkhouse. He was fabulous.”
Despite injecting the odd expletive, Miriam remains thoughtful as she reflects on the ageing process. She says: “Things don’t get better as you age, they get worse. It’s really crap getting older. I haven’t looked after myself in the way that I should have done. I haven’t lost weight, I haven’t exercised. When it comes to vices, I only have one – I can’t share a KitKat. I’ve tried, but I bear such resentment, it’s not worth it.”
Age has done nothing to dampen Miriam’s sense of humour. She says: “I can make people laugh. I’ve always been able to do that since I was a little girl. I think you’re either born a performer or an audience member and I was a performer. I always showed off. I didn’t know that you could be paid for it!
“I’m at the age now where I think about my legacy, and what I want to be remembered for. I want my legacy to be that I was a good actress who spoke truth to power.”
But even Miriam Margolyes is not completely fearless. She says: “What frightens me? I suppose death, cancer, Trump, world war, evil people – and Botox. My wrinkles are a badge of honour. It means I’ve smiled a lot, and I’ve thought a lot. I’ve lived. I don’t want to be flattened out.”
*Miriam’s Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits, scheduled for publication on September 3, 2026, by John Murray Press
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
