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Miriam Margolyes talks candidly about the heartbreak of self-isolating away from her partner of 52 years and we’re not crying, you are

Miriam Margoyles. (Screen capture via Twitter/ITV)

Miriam Margoyles. (Screen capture via Twitter/ITV)

Miriam Margolyes had the most, well, Miriam Margolyes approach to being separated from her partner during the coronavirus lockdown.

The British-Australian actor, 78, has been in a relationship with academic Heather Sutherland for decades, preferring to live separately for personal space reasons.

But since the government introduced social distancing measures, the couple have been completely separated.

When asked Monday (April 27) if she’d prefer to be in lockdown with her partner, Margolyes told This Morning’s Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughy: “I would’ve loved that actually.”

 I want to be with her for the rest of my life, that’s all I want.

“I don’t know whether she would because she’s an introvert,” she continued.

“So she likes to be quiet and get on with her work, she’s writing a book about Indonesia.

“I’m not afraid of it and I think we really will try to be together from now on, because that’s what life is about, loving someone.

“I was lucky enough to find someone who was prepared to love me, I’m not that loveable – I’m smelly and noisy and all that sort of thing.

“But she loves me and I want to be with her for the rest of my life, that’s all I want.”

Miriam Margolyes is not handling coronavirus lockdown ‘very well’.

When asked about how she’s handling lockdown, she admitted, rather transparently: “Not very well actually, I don’t like it but I’m keeping all the rules and doing the right thing.

“It’s the only time I ever thought that I would agree with [Boris] Johnson, but I do and we’ve all just got to stick it.

“I actually don’t give a stuff about the economy, I want people to survive.

“So, I think Boris Johnson is completely right about that. He’s not right about anything else, but he is right about that.”

She added: “I’m old and I didn’t think that I was going to have to spend the rest of my life sitting in my kitchen.

“But I have got a garden and that’s lovely.

“I’ve been out in the garden a lot, but I won’t do housework. I won’t do exercises.

“I just really do Netflix and read books and chat to my friends, and I call out to the neighbours across the road, so I am rather noisy.”

Viewers were, of course, in tears at Miriam Margolyes’ honesty. 

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