Miriam Margolyes will not face Ofcom probe for saying she ‘wanted Boris Johnson to die’ on The Last Leg

Margolyes’ comments sparked almost 500 complaints to the media regulator

Miriam Margolyes will not face an Ofcom investigation for declaring on live television that she wished Boris Johnson had died of coronavirus.

The British actor drew nearly 500 complaints after making the comments during an appearance on the 8 May episode of Channel 4’s comedy series The Last Leg.

“I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die,” Margolyes said during the show. “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.”

She continued: “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.”

Despite backlash and a number of complaints, Margolyes will not face an investigation, Ofcom has confirmed.

“These provocative comments had clear potential to offend viewers,” the regulator authority said in a statement. “But we also considered the audience’s likely expectations of Miriam Margolyes, a comic actor known for her forthright views, and of this live, late-night satirical comedy show.

“We also took into account that Ms Margoyles immediately qualified her comments, and viewers were warned in advance about the programme’s adult humour.”

Margolyes made the comments while Johnson was still recovering from Covid-19. The actor and TV presenter is renowned for making outrageous statements during appearances on chat shows, saying in 2017 that she loves to provoke shock as it “shakes people up a bit”.