
Miriam Margolyes admitted to receiving “a lot of criticism” for her F-bomb gaffe while discussing Jeremy Hunt on BBC Radio 4.
The 81-year-old Harry Potter actress didn’t hold back after her interview with Hunt ended in October, telling hosts Justin Webb and Martha Kearney that she never believed she’d be’sitting in the seat’ where Hunt had been sitting.
‘The thing is, when I saw him there, I just remarked, “You’ve got a hell of a job, best of luck,” she added. What I really wanted to say was, “F**k you, you b*****d!” But you’re not allowed to say that.’
As Webb chuckled and said, ‘Oh no no no you mustn’t say that,’ the couple rushed to keep her from saying anything further that could raise ripples before the watershed. We’ll need to get you out of the studio right away.’
Miriam now admits that, while she only got into difficulty with readers of specific newspapers, her harshest critic may have been herself.
‘I gave myself a lot of stick because it was totally unintentional,’ she told The Guardian, noting that she wasn’t in trouble with the broadcaster.
‘I did not know that the microphone was on. I was shaking all the way home in the taxi. I was really upset because Radio 4 is a holy temple.’
Responding to readers’ questions, she also told the outlet that she doesn’t like telling ‘filthy jokes’, and insisted the public have an ‘unfair’ perception of her based on the language she uses.

‘I’m certainly not going to tell any filthy jokes. I don’t like filthy jokes. People have this idea that I’m a walking cesspit. I think it’s quite unfair,’ she explained.
‘I take great care in the words I use and when I use swear words, I mean to use them. I don’t like a loose use of filth. I like a precise use of filth.’
Meanwhile, Miriam did open up on people having ‘different gradations of naughtiness’ when asked about the ‘naughtiest’ thing she’s ever done.
She responded: ‘Everybody has different gradations of naughtiness. I suppose it’s when I bare my a**e or t*ts at people. When I was younger, I enjoyed sharing my body visually.
‘When I was doing The Age of Innocence, by the end of a very long day of costume parading, the whole crew would be very tired and bored to tears, so I thought: the only thing to do is to show them my t*ts. I said: “I’m going to refresh you, gentlemen,” lifted my top and my untrammelled bosoms hung free and
dazzling.’