‘I showed my dislike’: Miriam Margolyes reveals she clashed with ‘unfriendly’ Lily Allen after sharing a sofa with her on The Graham Norton Show
Miriam Margolyes OBE has revealed which ‘unfriendly’ celebrity she hated sitting with on Graham Norton’s famous red sofa.
The actress is a frequent guest on the show and on Saturday she opened up about one of the less favorable experiences she’s had.
During the Hay Festival, Miriam, who has been interviewed by Graham Norton alongside Stanley Tucci and Matthew Perry, was asked by author Philippe Sands which celebrities she doesn’t like.
A 2014 episode of BBC’s The Graham Norton Show featured Miriam, 83, as a guest alongside Dominic Cooper and Lily Allen, 39.
Yet Miriam clashed with Lily, with the actress explaining: ‘When she was on the programme, she thought it was all about her.’
Miriam Margolyes, 83, has revealed which celebrity she hated sitting with on Graham Norton’s famous red sofa
At Saturday’s Hay Festival, Miriam was asked which celebrities she didn’t like, and revealed that of all the celebrities she’s met on Graham Norton, she only hates Lily Allen.
Miriam explained: ‘She thought when she was on the program it was all about her’ (pictured in 2014 with third guest Dominic Cooper)
Miriam continued, “She thought, ‘Who is this woman? Miriam who?’ She wasn’t friendly and I didn’t like that so I showed my disgust, which wasn’t very nice of me because she was much younger than me and I should have just taught her how to behave.”
Miriam has also credited The Graham Norton Show with helping her make “a huge amount of money” from personalized video app Cameo.
MailOnline has contacted Lily’s representative for comment.
Lily isn’t the only celebrity to get on Miriam’s bad side.
Miriam also told Philippe that Monty Python star John Cleese has “become an asshole”, while The Goodies’ Bill Oddie is “not a nice man”.
Last year, Miriam said that “toxic” John had “turned sour and is irrelevant,” as she said in an interview.
The comedian reflected on her time at Cambridge University with the Fawlty Towers star and scathingly branded him a ‘puny tadpole of a person’.
It came after John revealed why he could never be canceled despite being targeted after criticizing political correctness.
Prior to her book Oh Miriam!: Stories from an extraordinary life, Miriam said The guard how she was treated with contempt by John and his Monty Python co-star Graham Chapman while she was at university.
In the early 1960s she performed as part of the student sketch group Cambridge Footlights, but was ‘ignored’ as the group’s only woman.
She recalled: “I think they thought I was too full of myself because women were literally not allowed in the club at that time. Graham Chapman and John Cleese were toxic.
‘John was a brilliant comedian in his day, but something has changed. Like milk, it has turned sour. He’s irrelevant… Cleese is a little tadpole of a person.”
Miriam knocked off famous comedian Steve Martin in 2023 after starring in a film with him in the 1980s.
The Harry Potter star worked with Martin on the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors, and claims the experience was ‘despicable’ and described her American co-star as ‘unkind’.
‘I just thought he was quite awful. He was ac***, that’s all I can tell you,” she claimed in an interview with News.com.
Miriam explained that she had to share a scene with Martin, now 78, in which he played a dentist and she played a receptionist.
Miriam also told Philippe that Monty Python star John Cleese has ‘become an asshole’, while The Goodies’ Bill Oddie ‘isn’t a nice man’ (John pictured in Fawlty Towers)
Miriam slammed famed comedian Steve Martin in 2023 after starring with him in the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors, claiming the experience was ‘despicable’
Earlier this year, Miriam infuriated adult Harry Potter fans by claiming they should be ‘over’ the book by now because it is ‘for children’.
The actress, who played Professor Sprout in the critically acclaimed film series, admitted: ‘I worry about Harry Potter fans’
In the scene her character is ‘slapped’ by Martin’s and she explained that it took a number of takes before the funnyman was satisfied.
Miriam described the Father of the Bride star, 78, as a “brilliant perfectionist” but she felt left out of the process.
“I didn’t like it and had a splitting headache at the end of the day,” she said. ‘[Steve Martin] was terribly unfriendly, because he was a perfectionist.’
She did have some nice words for Martin: she called him very “gifted” and her scene in the finished film with him “very good.”
Earlier this year, Miriam infuriated adult Harry Potter fans by claiming they should be ‘over’ the book by now, just as it is ‘for kids’.
The actress and national treasure played Professor Sprout in the critically acclaimed film series based on the books by JK Rowling.
Despite insisting it was “amazing” and she was “very grateful” to the franchise, the BAFTA-winning actress said adult fans should be “over it” by now.
In an interview with New Zealand television network 1News, Miriam admitted: ‘I worry about Harry Potter fans.
She continued, “They should be over that by now. It was 25 years ago and it’s for kids. I think it’s for children.
“But they get stuck in it and I’m making cameos and people say, ‘Oh, we’re having a Harry Potter-themed wedding’ and I think, ‘Gosh, what their first night of fun will be like.’ I can’t even think about it.
‘Harry Potter is great, I’m very grateful for it, it’s over.’
The Harry Potter actress is known for her outspoken manner and shameless voicing of her opinions.
In December, Miriam was caught in a rare moment of humiliation during an appearance on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch while tuning in from Italy.
Steph, 41, shared the last time Miriam was on the show in 2021, during which the actress made uncomplimentary comments about her appearance and told her to her face that she doesn’t consider herself ‘beautiful’.
As Miriam told her she ‘looked great’ and complimented her ‘shiny top’, Steph said: ‘Thank you – because I remember the last time you were on. You told me you weren’t pretty, which caused a whole fuss.
In December, Miriam was caught in a rare moment of humiliation during an appearance on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch while tuning in from Italy.
Miriam had made the uncomplimentary comments to Steph (pictured) in an interview in November 2021
“I know you didn’t say it as an insult; you just said that I might be able to offer other things than just looks!’
Luckily, Steph saw the funny side of the blunt comment, as the rest of the studio roared with laughter.
But Miriam – who clearly didn’t remember the previous conversation – turned red-faced and admitted she had been ‘terrible’.
She rushed to apologize to Steph and said: ‘What a cheek of mine! My god, I’m sorry I said that. How rude!’
