Miriam Margolyes says she ‘doesn’t have long to live’

The much-loved actress believes she knows when she is going to die.

The Call The Midwife and Blackadder star underwent major heart surgery in October 2023, after years of living with spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis happens when the space inside the backbone is too small. This can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves that travel through the spine. Spinal stenosis happens most often in the lower back and the neck.

Some people with spinal stenosis have no symptoms. Others may experience pain, tingling, numbness and muscle weakness. Symptoms can get worse over time.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common cause of spinal stenosis is wear-and-tear damage in the spine related to arthritis. People who have serious spinal stenosis may need surgery.

Surgery can create more space inside the spine. This can ease the symptoms caused by pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. But surgery can't cure arthritis, so arthritis pain in the spine may continue.

The 83-year-old opened up about her health struggles during an appearance on the Table Manners podcast with hosts Jessie and Lennie Ware.

"I’ve got a cow’s heart now," she said. "Well, not the whole heart. I’ve had an aortic valve replaced by a cow’s aortic valve."

When asked if this was a common thing, Margolyes replied: "I think it’s rather refined, actually!"

She added: "I don’t know how common it is. I’d never heard of that operation. But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive."

Revealing more about the intricate operation, she said: "They made two little holes in your groin. One in each groin and then they shoved this thing through.

"And I don’t know how they pull it up but they sort of pull it up with stereos. And then when it comes to the point, when it’s in your heart, they pull a little string and it goes pow! And lo and behold, your artery or your aortic valve is shoved unceremoniously to the side."

In a new interview with The Telegraph earlier this year, the Harry Potter star admitted that she feels as though her life is nearing its end.

"When you know that you haven’t got long to live – and I’m probably going to die within the next five or six years, if not before, I’m loath to leave behind performing. It’s such a joy," she said.

She described the physical restraints of her condition as "limiting and depressing", and added: "I yearn to play roles that don’t confine me to wheelchairs, but I’m just not strong enough."

Margolyes is a star of the screen and stage and has been successful on both sides of the Atlantic.

She won the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award in 1993 for The Age of Innocence, and received Best Supporting Actress at the 1989 LA Critics Circle Awards for her role in Little Dorrit (1987).

For fans of a certain age though, she’s best known as Professor Sprout from the Harry Potter films.