Miriam Margolyes is no stranger when it comes to making controversial remarks about the prime minister, and she has now said she would “not mind if he was castrated”.
The star made headlines last year after Boris Johnson caught Covid-19, admitting she’d initially had “difficulty not wanting him to die”, as a result of how his government has handled the pandemic.
In a new interview with the Guardian, Miriam launched another attack on the PM, along with the Tory party and Johnson’s father Stanley.
“I think they are an appalling, incompetent, corrupt shower of twats,” she said of the government. “The cronyism and the prejudice and the bullying – I have never seen such a deplorable collection of people.
Turning her attention to Stanley, Miriam continued: “I spent a week with Boris Johnson’s vile father, you know. Horrible, just contemptible.
“You know, I got into trouble for saying that I wanted his son dead… I wouldn’t mind if he was castrated.”
Miriam was referring to the comments she made about the government’s Covid response on Channel 4′s The Last Leg, which prompted almost 500 complaints to TV watchdog Ofcom.
“It’s a disgrace, it’s a scandal,” she said. “I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die. Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.
“So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn’t get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that.”
Ofcom ultimately decided not to investigate with a spokesperson saying: “These provocative comments had clear potential to offend viewers, but we also considered the audience’s likely expectations of Miriam Margolyes, a comic actor known for her forthright views, and of this live, late-night satirical comedy show.
“We also took into account that Ms Margolyes immediately qualified her comments, and viewers were warned in advance about the programme’s adult humour.”
Months after the controversy, the former Harry Potter star said: “I can’t regret telling the truth. Daddy always said you must have a golden reputation, you must never do anything wrong and I don’t do anything wrong, in my view. I always try and do the right thing.”