‘It’s bloody awful’: Miriam Margolyes opens up about debilitating spinal condition

Actress Miriam Margolyes has opened up about living with a debilitating spinal condition and how she often thinks about the death that awaits her.

At 79-years-old, the Harry Potter actress admitted she’s no spring chicken anymore, with a “rather unpleasant” spinal stenosis that makes it difficult to walk or even stand without experiencing intense pain. It’s a condition which can put pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves within the spine, causing pain, numbness and even muscle weakness.

Describing the condition as “bloody awful”, Miriam said she expects it could cause her career to do a full loop and take her back to voice-over work, where she first began before stepping in front of the camera in films such as Romeo and Juliet.

The condition has also made her consider her death more, which may sound grim, but Miriam said it’s a normal part of ageing and it can be done in a sensible way.

“I think getting old is a very interesting process, you know there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I’m not a believer. I don’t believe God or Jesus is waiting to grasp me in his arms. I don’t know what happens after death, I simply don’t know. I know it’s the one thing we can be sure of.

“When you’re young you don’t think of that [death]. You think of the life that awaits you. And now I’m afraid I think about the death that awaits me, and I have to do it in as calm and sensible way as possible.”

She added: “It’s not a particularly comfortable thought, I don’t know about uneasy. You never know if you’re going to wake up the next day. I’m 79 now and I hope I’ll be 80.”

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Miriam says she’s always been one to live in the moment anyway, and like many Baby Boomers, she’s still embracing everything that comes her way, such as taking on her most recent television show Bucket. The comedy series is based around a mother and daughter who embark on a bucket list road trip to resolve the past issues that have made their present tense.

Miriam plays the mum, Mim, in the show, an eccentric 70-year-old who has been diagnosed with cancer and wants to finally experience all the things she’d put off over the years. It’s funny, yet emotional and heartwarming and a story that many over-60s are sure to relate to.

Even though Miriam admitted she’s always been someone to live in the moment, she said working on the program made her realise how important that mentality is, particularly amid the pandemic.

Unlike her character, she doesn’t have a bucket list and said she never even knew what one was before working on the show, because she’s always just done things as she’s wanted to.

“I’m very much a person of the here and now, I don’t think of the future,” she said. “I don’t usually look forward much. I think you should always do things in the moment.”