Miriam Margolyes 'longing for an easy death' in heartbreaking end of life admission

Outspoken actress Miriam Margolyes has admitted she "longs for an easy death" as she nears the end of her life after suffering from health issues in recent years.

Down the years she has appeared in some of the country's favourite films, with roles including playing Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and winning a BAFTA for best supporting actress in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence.

However, as her acting work has slowed down in recent years as she reaches the twighlight of her career. The 84-year-old has revealed how she has come to terms with the fact that the end of her life is getting closer.

In her new memoir, The Little Book of Miriam, she gave an honest reflection on her mortality, saying: "When you're young, you never think about death. Now I think about death a lot. Every morning when I get up, I think, 'Hmmm, another day'."

Curious about how her final weeks and months will play out, Miriam revealed how she is keen for her last days to be "easy".

She said: "I long for an easy death, without pain and incontinence. I'd prefer to be at home, rather than be felled in the street and helped into an ambulance by well-meaning strangers. I wonder how I'll be remembered, talked about, possibly reviled."

The actress added: "I can't help but be aware that the amount of time ahead of me is less than the time behind. But I'm still ducking and diving. I'm still open to new experiences. However, I'm conscious that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Now is the moment that counts."

Her candid insight in her memoir comes after she underwent open heart surgery in 2023 to replace her aortic valve with one from a cow's heart.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Miriam revealed how she wishes that she had taken more care of her health in her younger days: "I've let my body down. I haven't taken care of it. I have to walk with a walker now. I wish I'd done exercise.

She added: "It's the most ghastly waste of time, except that it keeps you going. So, I'm foolish."

Speaking on the Adam Buxton podcast last year, she revealed how she had already planned to live out her final days in Italy with her partner, Heather Sutherland. However, she said "Brexit and all that nonsense" had scuppered the plans: "So, our plans for our ending together, to be together until we both stop, then we can't do that and that is really irritating."

She added: "So, we're working out now, or trying to work out what we do with our last days, because death is the last big thing as I say, and I think we need to prepare for it."