Miriam Margolyes admits she was told to 'keep her mouth shut' days before Andi Peters clash

Just days before she sparked horror with her comments, Margolyes penned an article for The Guardian about how free speech is “disappearing”, claiming it is considered “brave to open your mouth”.Reflecting on the “nasty” global political climate in 2026, the Harry Potter star wrote: “The Britain I grew up in, though – that feels almost unrecognisable, and everyone I speak to says the same thing.”Miriam Margolyes admitted she gets told to ‘keep her mouth shut’ITVShe went on: “The things we took for granted – free speech, the Post Office, our local bank, even the home telephone – are disappearing. The US is an enemy. Evil oligarchs and their influence stalk the world, my world, your world.“You’re brave to open your mouth these days. Indeed, many have demanded I keep mine shut. But I can’t. The present has become threatening, hostile and unwelcoming to us – much as our shores must feel to asylum seekers, as they scramble for a foothold in our United Kingdom. “It also feels as though the country of my birth has lost its heart.”She penned the column while promoting her new book, Miriam’s Full English: A Grand Tour of All Our Best Bits. The book “explores Britain's identity, examining fairness, free speech, and what unites Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland”, according to its description.Margolyes was on This Morning last Thursday to plug the book and hit the headlines when she questioned Peters about his race.Read MoreAfter imitating Peters’ co-host Christine Lampard’s Northern Irish accent, she turned to Peters and asked “What are you?” to which he responded, looking baffled: “What am I? I’m me.”She went on: “Well, you’re a mix, aren’t you? So you’ve got a Black daddy and a white mummy.”She made comments about Andi Peters’ skin colour on This Morning last week ITVLooking speechless, Peters explained: “No, no, no, both my parents are Black.”Margolyes said: “Both parents are Black?” She then used an outdated term to describe the colour of Peters’ skin.Peters tried to diffuse the situation with a joke, asking if his makeup artist had used a “lighter shade than normal”.However, Margolyes repeated the term and said: “That’s what they call it in America. When someone isn’t deeply Black.”Peters said, “I didn’t even know there were shades,” to which the actor insisted: “There are shades. And this is what we...”Peters tried to interject with another quip, pressing a finger to his earpiece and joking: “The producers are getting nervous now!”“Don't be nervous, we welcome everybody,” Margolyes responded. “That's what I want to write about in my book. It's about inclusion. Not that there are people who need to be pushed out. And I'm not going to say who they are. You've got to read the book to find out.”Peters maintained his jovial demeanour, saying: “There we go! What a way to... and that’s how we will end this. On a short plug for the book.”The exchange was later removed from the ITVX version of the interview. Margolyes has sparked outrage in the past with her comments about people’s race AFP/GettyPresenter Jeremy Vine later called out Margolyes for having “no filter” and praised Peters for handling her comments “brilliantly”.Peters responded by thanking Vine and adding: “As you know we have to be ready for anything.” Viewers flooded social media with their outrage over Margolyes’ comments.“Miriam Margolyes being her usual rude self on This Morning on ITV. Even the gallery started panicking and said something in Andy Peters’ earpiece. What a vile and disgusting woman she is; why do they ever give her airtime?” one raged.“Utter cringe fest. ‘What are you???’ How dreadfully rude of Miriam Margoyle. Questioning Andi Peters’ skin colour too. Damn cheek,” another added.“Andi Peters did well to hold it together being spoken to like this. What an absolute scumbag Miriam Margolyes is,” a third posted.Others claimed the term Margolyes used is offensive as it suggests a hierarchy within the Black community, where those with lighter skin have social privileges denied to those with a darker complexion.The Standard has contacted Margolyes’ representative for comment.This isn’t the first time the Little Dorrit and Babe actor - who last year shared plans to move to Italy - has sparked outcry with her comments about people’s race.In 2024, she was blasted for asking Australian presenter Waleed Aly about his skin colour during an appearance on the panel show, The Project.She then turned to host Aly and asked: “What are you by the way? You’re sort of brown.”While the question prompted gasps from some of the audience, Aly said: “This is a really interesting question actually. I’ve thought about this a lot. I’m not joking about that… I’m Egyptian.”“Oh really,” Margolyes replied.“Which is in Africa. So, what do you want to call that?” he asked.“Well, lucky I think,” responded Margolyes. “Because I like the Egyptian people. I’m on the side of the Palestinians.”