Miriam Margolyes’s appearance on ITV‘s This Morning has drawn a wave of criticism, with viewers accusing the actor of racism after an exchange with presenter Andi Peters about accents and skin colour.
What happened during the Miriam Margolyes This Morning interview?
Margolyes, known for her work in the Harry Potter franchise and The Age of Innocence, appeared on the ITV daytime show on Thursday (3 September). The episode was hosted by Peters and Christine Lampard, and conversation turned quickly to the topic of accents, with Lampard’s Irish accent coming up first.
Margolyes then turned her attention to Peters, asking: ‘What are you? Because you don’t have an accent. You’ve got a Black daddy and a Black mummy.’ Peters, who looked surprised, replied that both his parents are Black. Margolyes then added: ‘Oh, both are Black? High yellow, that’s what they call it in America when people aren’t deeply Black.’
Peters appeared to receive a message through his earpiece from producers, telling viewers they were ‘getting nervous’. Margolyes responded: ‘Don’t be nervous. We’re all welcome.’ Later in the interview she asked Lampard whether she had ‘offended’ anyone.
Viewer reaction: ‘Rude, nasty and racist’
The exchange prompted immediate backlash on X. One user described Margolyes as ‘rude, nasty and racist’, calling the exchange ‘vile and disgusting’. Another wrote: ‘Was she offensive? And naïve? And stupid? Absolutely.’
A third user put it plainly: ‘Utter cringe fest. “What are you???” How dreadfully rude of Miriam Margolyes. Questioning Andi Peters’ skin colour too. Damn cheek.’ A fourth asked: ‘WHY did Miriam Margolyes think that was an okay thing to say? Like, ever?’
Among the more extended responses, one user drew a broader conclusion from the moment: ‘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.’
The book Margolyes was there to promote
Margolyes had been invited onto the show to promote her latest book, Miriam’s Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits, which was released on the same day as the appearance. The subject of the book makes the social media commentary about ‘inclusion’ particularly pointed, according to several viewers who raised it online.
Digital Spy, which first reported on the backlash, said it had contacted Margolyes’s representatives and ITV for comment. At the time of writing, neither had publicly responded.
This Morning airs on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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