Miriam Margolyes

“Adelaide's charms are compelling. It's not a huge place; the size is manageable, the traffic absurdly light.”

“I still miss my parents every day; I adored them. And when you have no children, friends are even more important to you.”

“One of the worst things about ageing is the waning of your physical powers. I live in a house with 64 stairs, and I cannot run up and down them any more; my knee has conked out.”

“While researching my ancestry I have unearthed many skeletons. It would seem that I come from a long line of ne'er-do-wells, especially on my mother's side.”

“My feeling is that the English are naturally anti-Semitic.”

“Nobody likes Jews. You can't say people like Jews. We're not popular. We're too smart to be liked. But it has been unacceptable to express anti-Semitism since the Holocaust.”

“Israel is stupid for allowing people to vent their anti-Semitism.”

“Anti-Semitism is a rotten thing. It's an ignorant, stupid, horrible thing. As is anti-Muslim feeling. They have to be together.”

“I want a comfortable old age and to be looked after - I have arthritis - and money is a factor.”

“With television, attention spans have been shortened. It's something we have to fight against: the dumbing down of the audience. To be part of an audience is a privilege. To be with the peop...”

“Confidence was the backbone of my upbringing. I was an only child, so I was spoilt, loved, and given an enormous amount of confidence by my parents.”

“I can't recall a bad review - maybe I'm due one. But the worst thing would be if somebody said I was inaudible. Reach your audience's ears - only then can you reach their hearts.”

“Old people have a much better time in India because they're respected.”

“I think I should be described as 'bi' - not bisexual, because I'm not - I'm gay - but 'binational' because I retain British nationality, and I add to it being Australian, which is like havin...”

“My mother died of a stroke in 1974, and for a long time, I blamed myself. She was utterly devastated when I told her I was a lesbian not long before.”

“I don't think people realise how important it is to have your blood pressure checked. Stroke is so sudden, so catastrophic.”

“I've burnt my boats, and there they are - smouldering in public view.”

“I don't care what I look like. I must be comfortable. Some of my friends have plastic surgery and Botox, but I'm not interested in it.”

“I was terribly upset not to be in 'Dickensian,' so I pretend to look down on it. The part I should have played, Mrs. Gamp, is done brilliantly by Pauline Collins, but I entered this world fo...”

“From my earliest days, reading was my passion, and at Cambridge, where I studied English literature, my intellectual life deepened and grew.”