Miriam Margolyes remark about Boris Johnson on The Last Leg sparks 241 Ofcom complaints

Actor received criticism for her remark about the prime minister, although she said in the same segment of the show that she later hoped he would get better

Miriam Margolyes’s admission that she “had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die” while he was battling coronavirus has sparked a wave of complaints to Ofcom.

The TV watchdog reports that 241 people complained after the actor’s appearance on a virtual episode of The Last Leg, during which she spoke about life during lockdown and her thoughts on the government’s handling of the pandemic.

“It’s a disgrace, it’s a scandal,” she said, speaking over video chat. “I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die. Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.

“So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn’t get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that.”

A spokesperson for The Last Leg told The Huffington Post: “The programme is live and unexpected comments can happen. In this instance Miriam went on to say that she wanted him to get better.”

As is standard procedure, Ofcom will assess the complaints individually before deciding if Margolyes’s comments breached their broadcasting rules.

Margolyes is far from the only celebrity to have criticised the prime minister for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Actor and comedian Matt Lucas mocked Johnson’s “confusing” announcement on the latest lockdown rules for the UK.

Live on This Morning, presenter Phillip Schofield criticised the “utterly astonishing advice”, which is built around the government’s new slogan, “stay alert”.