Miriam Margolyes criticised over This Morning appearance

Miriam Margolyes has been criticised following an appearance on This Morning earlier this week, with the actor being accused of racism in some quarters following a discussion with presenter Andi Peters.

The actor, known for her work in The Age of Innocence and the Harry Potter franchise, appeared on the ITV daytime show on Thursday (3 September), with the episode being hosted by Peters and Christine Lampard.

The conversation soon turned to the topic of accents, with Lampard's Irish accent being discussed. Margolyes then asked Peters about his own accent, saying: "What are you? Because you don't have an accent. You’ve got a Black daddy and a Black mummy."

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"Both my parents are Black," replied Peters, who looked surprised by the question, before Margolyes added: "Oh, both are Black? High yellow, that's what they call it in America when people aren't deeply Black."

Peters appeared to then get a message from producers in his earpiece, where he said that they were "getting nervous". Margolyes then said, "Don't be nervous. We’re all welcome", and later asked Lampard if she had "offended" anybody during the interview.

One user on X said that Margolyes was "rude, nasty and racist" following the "vile and disgusting" exchange, while another wrote: "Was she offensive? And naïve? And stupid? Absolutely."

"Utter cringe fest. 'What are you???' How dreadfully rude of Miriam Margolyes. Questioning Andi Peters' skin colour too. Damn cheek," wrote a third user, while a fourth asked: "WHY did Miriam Margolyes think that was an okay thing to say? Like, ever?"

"Asking a black man 'what are you?' and 'what is your normal accent' shows that, despite promoting her book about inclusion, Miriam doesn't actually see Andi Peters as British. And then saying 'we welcome everybody' doesn't take away the fact she views him as other," noted another user.

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Digital Spy has contacted Margolyes's representatives and ITV for comment.

Margolyes appeared on This Morning to promote her latest book, Miriam's Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits, which was released on Thursday.

This Morning airs on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.