Veteran actress Miriam Margolyes, best known for her role as Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, has shared her experience living with spinal stenosis and has made a somber prediction about her own mortality. The 83-year-old star is set to appear in the Gogglebox Stand Up to Cancer Special and recently spoke about her health struggles in an interview with The Radio Times.
Margolyes revealed that she has been coping with spinal stenosis, a condition that leads to the narrowing of the spine and can severely impact mobility. Reflecting on the changes in her physical abilities, she shared a poignant request made to her colleagues in the industry. “When I started kind of failing physically, I remember saying to directors and producers, please don’t show me clambering out of a car or climbing upstairs on my hands and knees,” she recalled. “I didn’t want people to see that because I was embarrassed to see myself looking so pathetic.”
According to the NHS, spinal stenosis typically presents symptoms such as pain, numbness, weakness, and a tingling sensation in one or both legs, often posing substantial challenges to mobility. The condition is more common among older adults due to age-related wear and tear on bones and tissues, which can lead to the narrowing of the spinal column.
Earlier this year, Margolyes spoke candidly to The Telegraph about her thoughts on mortality, even predicting her own death. “When you know that you haven’t got long to live—and I’m probably going to die within the next five or six years, if not before,” she said, reports Surrey Live. The actress acknowledged the difficulties of growing older, admitting that the physical limitations imposed by her condition have been both “limiting and depressing.”
Despite these challenges, Margolyes has found solace in the positive impact her openness has had on others. “I’ve met loads of people who have said I gave them the courage to do things that they never thought they could,” she told The Radio Times.
Her candid discussions about spinal stenosis and aging continue to resonate with many, offering a reminder of the importance of confronting vulnerability with honesty and courage.
