In recent years, Miriam Margolyes has become as beloved for her unfiltered TV appearances and interviews as she has for her Bafta-winning film career, but there’s one talk show comment she’s admitted she still regrets.
Back in 2016, Miriam shared the Graham Norton Show sofa with Friends actor Matthew Perry, during which she shared her infamous anecdote about meeting Sir Lawrence Olivier and becoming so overwhelmed that she “started to cream in my knickers”.
That’s not the remark she regrets, though.
In an excerpt from her new memoir Oh Miriam! (published in The Independent), the former Harry Potter star explained: “Matthew was expecting a bland conversation that stayed on the surface of things, but I was warming to my theme and immediately launched in, burrowing deeper.
“I asked him if he was an alcoholic. On reflection, I really wish I hadn’t.”
Miriam added that this was one of only a “few times” she felt she didn’t quite
“mesh” with the celebrity she found herself seated next to on a talk show.
Matthew – who played Chandler Bing in all 10 seasons of Friends – has previously spoken candidly about his past issues with substance abuse, including addictions to alcohol and prescription medication.
He reflected on this in detail in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing.
HuffPost UK has contacted Matthew Perry’s team for comment.
During Miriam and Matthew’s shared Graham Norton Show appearance, the four-time Emmy nominee admitted he’d “never been more uncomfortable in my life” after her Sir Laurence Olivier anecdote.
Later in the conversation, she also admitted she’d “never seen Friends”, having previously taken a dislike to the show’s co-creator Marta Kauffman, who Matthew maintained was “quite lovely”.
Miriam’s book has already made headlines thanks to her take on Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning, as well as claims made about a number of her former co-stars.
Watch a clip of Matthew and Miriam on The Graham Norton Show below: