Miriam Margolyes speaks candidly about health issues and fears for the future

Veteran actress Miriam Margolyes has opened up about her concerns for the future, confessing that she is “failing physically”. At 83, the British-Australian star, famous for her roles in blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and cult classic Little Shop of Horrors, as well as TV favourites Blackadder and Call the Midwife, is facing the realities of getting older.

The much-loved actress recently spoke to the Radio Times about her concerns about paying for care as she gets older. Miriam underwent major heart surgery last year and is now considering the financial implications of her healthcare needs.

She expressed her concern: “I worry that I won’t have enough money for caregivers if I end up paralyzed or whatever happens to me. I save money so that I can pay people to care for me and my partner. We don’t have children, so I have to make sure that I’m cared for in the way that I’m used to.”

Miriam, who has been with her partner Heather Sutherland since 1968, doesn’t rely solely on her acting income. She’s also raked in £365,000 through personalised messages on OnlyFans and pocketed £250,000 from her recent autobiography.

Despite her financial planning, Miriam shared a poignant quote that captures her thoughts on mortality: “I always quote William Saroyan, who says, ‘I know everyone has to die, but I thought maybe an exception would be made for me,’” Wales Online reports.

“I know now that’s absolutely not true. What do I think happens after death? My therapist always said there might be a party. I honestly don’t think there is, I think you just stop, but it would be nice if there was a party.”

Earlier this year, Miriam spoke candidly about her father Joseph’s battle with dementia as he got older. She said: “When my dad started having symptoms in his early 90s, I had a feeling that something was wrong, but I tried to push it away.”

“It wasn’t until the neighbors called me and said that Dad was at the door and that they were in his house that I realized that he couldn’t be left alone anymore. And that Alzheimer’s, I didn’t know what it was then, but the disease that had him in its grip had an iron grip and my father was no longer the man I knew.”

“It was utterly devastating. Every now and then I saw glimpses of the father who had cared for me and been my support and confidant. But very little; he became more and more a shell and a covering.”

The actress revealed that she felt the situation was unfair because he was a “good, kind, loving man” who “seemed to disappear” before her eyes. “I couldn’t deal with it, I didn’t know what to do or who to ask,” she added.

Speaking about the impact of dementia on relationships, Miriam shared: “Unfortunately, as you get older and when illness strikes, the whole foundation of your relationship changes. “Dependency changes, expectations change, capacity changes. The person you fell in love with and longed for when you started your love affair, then at the end of your life there is a stark realization that things have changed completely and forever.

“I’ve been with my partner for 54 years and I hope we’ll stay that way until we’re both dead. I think it’s just a joy to know someone so well, to trust someone so much and to know that you’re loved. Life is sweeter when you share it.”