'I Love Saying Things To Shock People It's Such Fun!'

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Screen legend Miriam Margolyes is known for her witty asides and honest views on life. When we call her for a chat, she’s warm, wry and on form. ‘I occasionally say something in order to shock because it’s such fun!’ She reveals. ‘But mostly I say things because I believe in what I say and I want to say it.’

Miriam, 76, is starring in The Man who Invented Christmas, a film about how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. After reading English at Newnham College, Cambridge, this is a dream for ‘proud bookworm’ Miriam.

‘It’s very good to read,’ Miriam says. ‘It’s the sign of education and sophistication and I’m very sorry for people who don’t read. When I go into a house and there are no books, I’m afraid I make judgments.’

Though she’s starring in a film about A Christmas Carol, Miriam reveals that she’s stuck on deciding her favourite Dickens novel. ‘It’s between Little Dorrit, Bleak House and Great Expectations. Every time I come back to Dickens, I always think that he’s better than anybody else. I hope this film will make people want to read his books – if you read Dickens you feel alive. It makes you feel everything.’