Miriam Margolyes' hidden health battles as she admits she 'doesn't have long left'

Actress has been a staple of British stage and for decades, but she has admitted that ongoing health issues have limited the kind of roles she can take on in recent years.

The actress, who played Professor Sprout in the movies, opened up in an interview about a heartbreaking fear regarding her health, Speaking to The Times, Miriam said, "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. I yearn to play roles that don't confine me to wheelchairs, but I'm just not strong enough."

Miriam, 84, underwent heart surgery back in 2023 to have her aortic valve replaced - a procedure that luckily meant she avoided a much more invasive open heart surgery. She explained on the Table Manners podcast - hosted by Jessie and Lennie Ware - "I've got a cow's heart now," adding, "Well, not the whole heart. I've had an aortic valve replaced by a cow's aortic valve. 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."

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The candid actress has dealt with a few health issues over the years and has previously revealed she is registered as disabled. The looks back at the health problems that Miriam has struggled with...

Spinal Stenosis

The Oxford-born actress suffers from spinal stenosis, which she has said seriously impacts her mobility. Spinal stenosis occurs when the tunnels in the spine, which contain nerves, narrow - this can be quite common as people get older, per the - and some people experience very few symptoms, or their nerves learn to adapt to the smaller space.

However, for others, more rarely, it can have more of a serious impact, causing weakness in the arms and legs and affecting their function, which can have a big impact on movement and quality of life. It can also lead to more "serious conditions called cauda equina syndrome or cervical myelopathy. These are rare, but serious spinal conditions which can lead to permanent damage or disability."

When opening up about her spinal stenosis and the impact it has had on her mobility, Miriam revealed to the Radio Times that she initially wanted to hide her difficulties from her audiences. "When I started kind of failing physically, I remember saying to directors and producers, please don't show me clambering out of a car or climbing upstairs on my hands and knees.

"But, subsequently, I've met loads of people who have said I gave them the courage to do things that they never thought they could." There are two kinds of spinal stenosis, lumbar and cervical, and some people suffer from both simultaneously, with lumbar impacting the legs and arms.

Symptoms of spinal stenosis include: weakness, pain, numbness or tingling, and a pins and needles sensation in the arms or legs, with cramping and heaviness also occurring in lumbar spinal stenosis. Miriam has said that her spinal condition means she has to use mobility aids to get around.

"I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled,” she told Closer. "I use all kinds of assistance. I’ve got two sticks and a walker and they’re such a bore, but I’ve just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun."

Miriam joked, "It's like having a new toy. It's very good for shopping because it's got a basket on it - and I do enjoy whizzing around on it immensely."

Arthritis

The BAFTA-winning actress has opened up a few times about her battle with osteoarthritis, which caused her to undergo a knee replacement surgery in 2016. She told Digest that after a five-week stay in a dedicated rehabilitation facility post-surgery, she worked with a personal trainer to help build up muscles around her knee, but she also moved house so that she wouldn't have to go up and down stairs as much.

Miriam - who was awarded an OBE in 2002 - explained that she first noticed symptoms of osteoarthritis when she was only in her mid-30s. "I actually noticed the first symptoms of osteoarthritis when I was only 35 years old,” she said. "Some swelling in my knuckles turned out to be Heberden’s nodes and I was grateful that it didn’t progress any further at that stage.

"Ten years ago, my knees started to protest. I had broken a bone in my knee when I was at school and that was where the new problems began." She also revealed that cold or damp worsens her symptoms, but offered some inspirational advice to other people dealing with the same issue.

"My advice for anyone living with arthritis pain is to keep moving as much as possible and don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Get up and stretch and bend… and do that little bit more than you want to. All of the illnesses we can fall victim to have societies and it is worth getting involved and sharing experiences. Be proactive, don’t get sunk in the depression of the disease. Nobody escapes pain or stress, we’re all having a problem and we all need an inside strength to keep going," she said.

Osteoporosis

The actress also has been diagnosed with osteoporosis and works as an ambassador Royal Osteoporosis Society. The condition makes bones weaker, unfortunately meaning they are more likely to break.

Whilst losing bone density is a normal thing that happens to everyone when they get older, osteoporosis is more serious and needs to be managed. She told the about her condition that she wouldn't let it get her down, explaining with her characteristic good humour, "If we take control of our illness as best we can, it's a very good psychological stimulus to getting on with life and not being downed by something with six syllables".

Stress Incontinence

Miriam, who has never shied away from uncomfortable topics and speaking her mind, told The Guardian in 2017 that after undergoing surgery to have a kidney stone removed, she began to suffer from stress incontinence - something that is common as people get older, particularly women.

"I have to be near a toilet because if I cough or sneeze, I can p**s myself. I think it’s common among people my age, but nobody ever talks about it. I’ve got to talk about it. It’s on my mind," she said.

Miriam explained that once, when walking on Hampstead Heath, she had to ask a stranger to use their bathroom urgently. "I knocked on a door and I said I’m terribly sorry but I’m going to ask to have a s**t in your toilet, is that all right? The owner looked at me for a minute and then said: 'I think I recognise you, are you Miriam Margolyes? I said: Yes, I am … does that make it better or worse?"

Care worries

Miriam has opened up a couple of times about her concerns about paying for carers as she gets older, explaining to the Radio Times: "I’m worried that I won’t have enough money for carers when I finally get paralysed or whatever it is that’s going to happen to me...I’m saving up cash so that I can pay people to look after me and my partner. We don’t have children, so I need to make sure I’m going to be looked after in the way that I’ve become accustomed."

She echoed these sentiments on , "One day I will need carers. I want to be comfortable and I want them to be properly paid for. It is really because I want to make money though and they pay me to do it."

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