The marvellously mirthful Miriam Margolyes

[Mel O'Drama]

We viewed this last night, and as always, Miriam is a delight to watch.

I'm glad you enjoyed it Ome.

Oh, how I would have enjoyed a full hour with just her and Graham.

I know what you mean, but I also love seeing the other guests react to her. The faces as she told her internal examination story were priceless.

As we know, she doesn't hold back in anything. The book wasn't something she would do until she learned of the money she would earn from doing it, and then the mention of Winona Ryder as a shoplifter...

Ooh - sounds like she was really on form.

 

[Angela Channing]

I know what you mean, but I also love seeing the other guests react to her. The faces as she told her internal examination story were priceless.

That's what made the episode she did with will.i.am so entertaining. Ron Howard seemed very amused by her but he didn't have the same rapport with her as did will.i.am. Ron Howard came across as a more interesting character than I realised and might buy his autobiography now to find out more about his life.

Who else but Miriam would get away with calling Winona Ryder "that shoplifter"?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Ron Howard seemed very amused by her but he didn't have the same rapport with her as did will.i.am. Ron Howard came across as a more interesting character than I realised and might buy his autobiography now to find out more about his life.

Oh - that was Ron Howard.

Because he was only shown in passing in the clip and didn't speak I'd thought he was Will Gompertz. And I thought it a bit odd that he'd be a guest on a chat show.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Old news to those of you who've watched, but this boob-heavy clip from Friday's show has become available:

Who else but Miriam would get away with calling Winona Ryder "that shoplifter"?

That's in this clip as well. I wonder what Ron Howard and Paul Rudd thought of it, both having worked on films with Winona (respectively The Dilemma and The Ten)

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I'm so looking forward to Miriam and Alan: Lost In Scotland beginning tonight.

While I won't be watching it live, I'll be catching up with it in the coming days and I'm expecting it to be a hoot.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Here's a nice little Miriam interview about the new series.

Oh. A lilac lesbian. Ooh.

And she's not a Madonna fan.

I don't know why [Alan Cumming] would be frightened of Madonna. He's got more talent in his little finger than she's got in her whole body, as far as I'm concerned anyway... I don't want anybody to be frightened of anything. Particularly Madonna.

@Ome will be as excited as I am to see she's also about to begin a new series, Australia Unmasked in which she'll tour Oz in a camper van. An automatic one, of course.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Oh my. This is great. Miriam's latest This Morning appearance gave her a slot as Agony Aunt:

I'd expected her to be blunt, and she was (the "leave him" moment was terrific, and so was the firm "Don't tell her" advice). But I love how warm she is as well, especially the way she reframes what someone sees as a negative and turns it into a positive (the way she tells a caller to embrace her thin skin is lovely). She has a lot of empathy and seems to be a natural. I do hope she does some more of this.

Plus... the moment just after the two minute mark where she's obviously trying very hard not to swear is hilarious. And she seems to have Phil's number.



And then there's this:

Miram's just done the most enormous fart.​

 

[Ome]

This is great. Miriam's latest This Morning appearance gave her a slot as Agony Aunt:

It doesn't matter where Miriam is; I sit and watch her with the biggest grin and often laugh out loud moments. As blunt and hilarious as Miriam was, I also found her very wise, and every answer she gave made perfect sense.

And then there's this:

Laughter is infectious, and as I was laughing along with Holly & Phil, my amusement increased when Phil described how she leant over and then commented, "that's better."

@Ome will be as excited as I am to see she's also about to begin a new series,

I can't wait for this. We never watch live TV, so the plan is to catch it in the next couple of days.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

It doesn't matter where Miriam is; I sit and watch her with the biggest grin and often laugh out loud moments.

Yes. You can see why she's asked back again and again onto This Morning and the Norton show.

In preparation for the new series, last night I watched this entire episode of Norton while cooking dinner, as it has both Miriam and Alan on the sofa:

It's possibly my favourite line up as everyone there is clearly enjoying each other's company and having a good laugh. You can tell Miriam has a really good relationship with Daniel Radcliffe and with Alan.

I loved the moment where she kind of started having her own conversation with other people by asking all of the men if they had a foreskin. And her curiosity about Alan's bisexuality was great because it was another of those brilliant moments where she said what most people wouldn't have, and it really showed that Alan appreciated having a conversation about it.

As blunt and hilarious as Miriam was, I also found her very wise, and every answer she gave made perfect sense.

I really appreciated how she put herself into it as well, talking about her own thin skin and how she wouldn't be an actress if she had a thick skin because she wouldn't be able to connect with the world. It really brought her advice to life and made it real, which is far better than someone talking down. She kind of proved her qualifications to advice through discussing her life experience.

Laughter is infectious, and as I was laughing along with Holly & Phil

Same here. I love these little moments.

I can't wait for this.

Me too. She mentioned she was back in Australia in January, so I'm guessing that's when she'll start filming the new series. I'm so looking forward to it.

We never watch live TV, so the plan is to catch it in the next couple of days.

That's my plan too. Part of me is wondering about waiting and watching all three at once, but I'm not sure how it works with Channel 4's On Demand service, so I may just end up watching Episode One at the weekend.

 

[Ome]

I mean this in the nicest possible way. Every time I watch Miriam I see Tom Baker. It’s the eyes and the warm comforting smile.


And those curls.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I mean this in the nicest possible way. Every time I watch Miriam I see Tom Baker. It’s the eyes and the warm comforting smile.


And those curls.

And the loveable eccentricities!!

I've honestly thought exactly the same thing. I can really see it. They do have a similar mischievous gleam in their eyes.


Miriam also reminds me quite a bit of how Kenneth Williams was later in life, after the Carry Ons, when he was the outrageous chat show guest who was always guaranteed to entertain (I suspect she also shares his terribly low self esteem as well, but that's another matter).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Last evening I took a peek at the first episode of Miriam and Alan: Lost In Scotland. It was wonderful.

There's a great energy between the two of them. While there are little flickers of Miriam finding Alan's enthusiasm a bit wearisome sometimes, it's also very plain that they enjoy each other's company and find one another entertaining. I adored how supportive Miriam was when Alan went back to the childhood home where he'd been abused by his father, and I found the entire sequence very moving.

Equally, Alan seemed very protective towards Miriam as though she's a surrogate mother or favourite Aunt. He was very chivalrous, from doing all the driving (because Miriam can't drive a manual) to emptying Miriam's huge poos out of the loo to pushing her round in her wheelchair to helping her in and out of the caravenette:

Can I touch yer bum?

I want you to.

I find Alan very likeable with his dimples, his cheeky grin and his cheery disposition. Post The High Life (which I loved) I'm shamefully out of touch with his career (the only things in which I recall seeing him are X2 and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion). Perhaps I need to remedy this.

Everything discussed in the interviews above was in this first episode: from the "Alium" tartan to Miriam talking about her love for Lady Gaga and ticking Alan off for being frightened of Madonna. This is great, because it means the following episodes will be a complete surprise.

 

[Ome]

It was wonderful.

We watched it over the weekend too and loved it. I really can not get enough of Miriam, and I thought she worked well alongside Alan.

While there are little flickers of Miriam finding Alan's enthusiasm a bit wearisome sometimes,

This episode made me think of how Miriam would get along with another person who has a strong personality like herself, and I started to imagine that some people would probably get on her nerves. While she has that wonderful warm fuzzy feeling of friendship, I also see she can be a no-nonsense lady, so it was great to watch these two bond over many things.

Perhaps I need to remedy this.

This is a big ask, but he was fantastic in THE GOOD WIFE. He was my favourite character too.

This is great, because it means the following episodes will be a complete surprise.

I'm thrilled that we still have two episodes left.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

We watched it over the weekend too and loved it.

Oh great. It's nice to be watching something current at the same time as you.

This episode made me think of how Miriam would get along with another person who has a strong personality like herself, and I started to imagine that some people would probably get on her nerves. While she has that wonderful warm fuzzy feeling of friendship, I also see she can be a no-nonsense lady, so it was great to watch these two bond over many things.

Yes, they do seem genuinely fond of one another and that comes across in interviews I've seen them do individually relating to this series.

I know the cameras are running and you never know for sure, but I'm impressed with how much Alan's rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in so far, which I'm sure she'd respect. From mucking out the toilet to leaping the fence to groom the enormous cattle, he's been pretty fearless.

This is a big ask, but he was fantastic in THE GOOD WIFE. He was my favourite character too.

Thanks for that tip. I've seen the series mentioned in general terms from time to time and was already a little intrigued. I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on it.

I'm thrilled that we still have two episodes left.

Same here. If I'd have a choice I'd probably have waited and watched the whole thing over two or three nights but because I couldn't find anything to indicate how long it stays on All4 I thought it best to watch before the next episode. Now I've started I'll probably watch it over three weekends. There was quite a lot to process anyway, so it's good to spread out the enjoyment.

 

[Ome]

From mucking out the toilet t

Oh, eck! I forgot about that. I was thrown by it actually, I had no idea on how waste like this was disposed of. Well, in realty, it never crossed my mind. The things we learn

I couldn't find anything to indicate how long it stays on All4 I

Yes, I have been caught out a few times where I’ve delayed watching a series and then left distraught when I learn it’s been taken off.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I was thrown by it actually, I had no idea on how waste like this was disposed of. Well, in realty, it never crossed my mind. The things we learn

Yes indeed. I'll tell you what, it hasn't bumped camping to the top of my "to do" list. That said, the series does make driving round on a big adventure look very fun.

I wonder where Miriam and Alan slept during their travels. Despite appearances, I don't think they'd have slept in the van. My guess is they were put up in hotels. But the thought of them both sleeping in that van is an amusing visual.

Yes, I have been caught out a few times where I’ve delayed watching a series and then left distraught when I learn it’s been taken off.

Absolutely. That's why I thought it was better safe than sorry.

It's a nice change of pace anyway, since I binged on Miriam's previous series for the opposite reasons: I was worried they'd drop off iPlayer before I finished.

 

[Ome]

Yes indeed. I'll tell you what, it hasn't bumped camping to the top of my "to do" list. That said, the series does make driving round on a big adventure look very fun.

Camping is not my idea if fun, but like you say, watching it does make it come across as fun. I’m always worried (when I watch travel shows like this) where would I park up and stay for the night. I assume they have areas to stop off in and not just randomly park on any given free land area.

I wonder where Miriam and Alan slept during their travels. Despite appearances, I don't think they'd have slept in the van. My guess is they were put up in hotels

Yes, that’s my guess too.



Do you watch other, similar shows like this. Two that spring to my mind are Jane McDonald and Bradley Walsh & son.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I’m always worried (when I watch travel shows like this) where would I park up and stay for the night. I assume they have areas to stop off in and not just randomly park on any given free land area.

I've thought the same thing, and like you assumed there must be somewhere planned out for them to stop. Even if on the road, I'd need that security of knowing where I'm going to be stopping to sleep.

Do you watch other, similar shows like this. Two that spring to my mind are Jane McDonald and Bradley Walsh & son.

I can't think of others I've seen, but I'd certainly be open to watching them.

 

[Ome]

Now I've started I'll probably watch it over three weekends.

That was our plan, too, only we failed to watch the second episode this past weekend. Hopefully, we will watch it tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

That was our plan, too, only we failed to watch the second episode this past weekend. Hopefully, we will watch it tonight or tomorrow.

Easily done, Ome. At least this way you'll be able to watch Episodes Two and Three in close succession.

Incredibly, I did remember to watch Episode Two and thoroughly enjoyed it.