Miriam Margolyes in the Newstalk ZB studio. Photo / Victoria Ellison Photography
Miriam Margolyes in the Newstalk ZB studio. Photo / Victoria Ellison Photography
Australian citizen Miriam Margolyes has come out swinging against her second home in a candid new interview, revealing she “slightly” prefers New Zealand to our transtasman neighbour.
Margolyes, 83, told Australian radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O of KIIS FM while she thought Australia was “afabulous country”, it was also “going a bit wonky at the moment, like the rest of the world”.
“I became a citizen because my partner is Australian, and I wanted to be ever-closer to Australia,” she said.
“But now I think my allegiance has slipped slightly and gone to New Zealand.”
The Daily Mail reported the Romeo + Juliet star shares a holiday home with her partner Heather in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, which they rent out when it’s not in use.
The British actress received her Australian citizenship in 2013 and spends her time between Australia, London and Tuscany.
Her expressed love of Aotearoa may be in part due to her recent experiences here, with the actress having filmed a new travel show titled Miriam Margolyes in New Zealand.
The series sees Margolyes travelling Aotearoa in a campervan, featuring situations that show her chatting with farmers while eating pavlova, witnessing a school haka, and even being taught how to do a pūkana [to stare wildly].
Margolyes also revealed during the radio interview a pet peeve she has regarding Australians, claiming their manners are “f***ing terrible”.
Award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes admitted it was "unforgivable" she hadn't explored more of New Zealand in the trailer for her new ABC show. Photo / ABC
Known for her outspoken criticism of US President Donald Trump, the Harry Potter actress also got into a heated debate with Sandilands when the subject of politics was brought up.
“It’s like [what] Trump says about Canada,” Sandilands said.
“New Zealand’s pretty much another state of Australia anyway, so I totally get it. I get what you love about it”.
Margolyes replied: “Don’t ‘let’s talk’ about lumps of orange turd. I can’t bear it”.
Luckily for her, the actress will likely be spending a lot more time in New Zealand in the coming months because of her role in an upcoming New Zealand-shot film.
Holy Days is based on beloved Kiwi author Dame Joy Cowley’s novel of the same name and follows three quirky older nuns as they experience their own special New Zealand road trip.
“I’m very excited about it. But even though it’s three hours away from my home in Sydney, I don’t know anything about New Zealand,” she revealed.
Miriam MargolyesinNew Zealand will screen on Neon and Sky Go from February 9.
