Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes interview

She doesn't like Tony Abbott's swimwear or policies, thinks Nigel Farage is frightening, loves Australia - mostly - and thinks Israel can be blind to its own faults. Anything else to add to the list?

Radio Times review

An exodus of cast members in the last series means that we have lots of new employees to meet. Some, like Colin's nan Rose (Miriam Margolyes) feel too caricatured to be credible, but Stephen Tompkinson as thwarted doctor-turned-pharmacist Brian hits the right note.

On the whole, though, Trollied is now a shadow of its former self: the comedy is far too broad and the warmth seems to have left along with most of the original line-up. But at least the seedy Colin is still clocking on. He's been promoted, but is struggling with knotting a tie. Apparently, it's because all the ones he wore for his court appearances were clip-ons.

Miriam Margolyes interview

Miriam Margolyes on success, sexuality - and meeting Will.i.am. "I'm surprised I haven't been more successful," says the Trollied star.

Miriam Margolyes: 'I have fallen in love with myself'

The actress talks about her sexuality, Muriel Spark and Sky1's supermarket-set sitcom Trollied.

His name is Cooper, Dominic Cooper... currently stirring things up on Sky Atlantic as Ian Fleming, the chap who gave birth to 007. The History Boys actor settles himself down in Norton's studio for a chat alongside the charmingly bonkers Miriam Margolyes, who's heading to Australia later this year with her one-woman show, I'll Eat You Last. And Lily Allen, still flying high from her Christmas success with Somewhere Only We Know, gives us a taste of her perky new song Air Balloon.

Radio Times review

The incomparable Miriam Margolyes has become a semi-regular on Graham's couch in recent years. It's easy to see why: charmingly eccentric and outrageous (the last time she was on she told a show-stealing story about "assisting" a sex-starved soldier up a tree in Edinburgh), she's one of those daffy English wits we thought we just didn't make any more.

Remember when the likes of Peter Ustinov and Kenneth Williams would frequently turn up on Parkinson and Wogan, not to plug anything in particular but just because they were always good value? Margolyes is one of the few remaining figures we have in that vein.

So, should fellow guests Lily Allen and Dominic Cooper fail to cut the mustard, Graham can always rely on his real star turn to pick up the slack.

For the Hebburn special we join the Pearsons as they anticipate the arrival of Sarah (Kimbereley Nixon), Jack (Chris Ramsay) and their baby AJ as they're flying back from Switzerland. Unfortunately they fail to arrive back before the arrival of Sarah's parents and her grandmother Millie (Miriam Margolyes). The arrival of another old woman in a wheelchair means there's soon a showdown between Millie and Jack's grandmother Dot (Pat Dunn).

Upon arriving home it appears that both Jack and Sarah are enjoying their new life in Switzerland, but secretly they both confess that they hate being separated for so long. Elsewhere Gervaise (Neil Grainger) is soon trying to win back Vicki (Lisa McGrillis) and makes the ultimate gesture to her towards the end of the episode. Soon, Pauline (Gina McKee) finds herself celebrating a non-denominational winter festival when Sarah's Jewish parents are forced to stay after their car is stolen.

One of my most usual complaints about TV shows is that they drag on, but for me this special of Hebburn could've done with being about fifteen minutes longer. The fact that there was so much story to tell meant that some pivotal moments were lost in the shuffle among Joe's insistence that everyone wear hats and Margolyes and Dunn stealing the show as the warring grannies. Despite this, I still love Hebburn and think that this Christmas special was still incredibly funny with characters that I still care about. I hope that BBC2 do the right thing and give this superb sitcom a third series as it more than deserves one.

The recent death of Richard Briers drew attention to how wretched much of the BBC's mainstream sitcom output has become. Heading Out isn't going to reverse this downward slide, but if this opener to Sue Perkins's series is a little light on laughs, it's still sharply observed and amiably performed. Perkins, in particular, is unrecognisable from her hyper-irritating turns on Supersizers.

She plays Sara, a vet grappling with the prospect of coming out to her parents as she turns 40: animals, sexuality, family, age... Classic sitcom themes all, but the vaguely autobiographical nature of Heading Out gives it a little extra frisson. The physical comedy of the set-piece netball match is awkwardly staged and among a generally strong supporting cast, Joanna Scanlan's Miriam Margolyes impression seems to come from a different show entirely. Otherwise, a promising start.

Gloomsbury (Radio 4, Friday) is the Bloomsbury of Harold Nicholson, Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf and Violet Trefusis as re-imagined by clever Sue Limb and recreated by a brilliant cast (Miriam Margolyes, Alison Steadman, Nigel Planer, Morwenna Banks, Jonathan Coy). It bustles along, shifting assorted real-life infatuations, elopements and enthusiasms into the higher planes of nonsense. Oddly, however, the thrust of the performances seemed greater than the grip of the narrative.