Ofcom received more than 240 complaints in response to Miriam Margolyes' comments about Boris Johnson on 'The Last Leg'.

Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes

The 78-year-old actress upset viewers of the Channel 4 chat show when she said she wanted the Prime Minister - who recently recovered from coronavirus - to die.

Asked how she though the government had dealt with the pandemic, Miriam replied: "It's a disgrace, it's a scandal.

"I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die. Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I don't want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.

"So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn't get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that."

A spokesperson for the show subsequently said: "The programme is live and unexpected comments can happen. In this instance Miriam went on to say that she wanted him to get better."

However, Ofcom has received as many as 241 complaints from viewers over the comments, which are currently being considered by the industry regulator.

In a statement, Ofcom explained: "We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."

Meanwhile, Miriam has admitted to being in a pessimistic mindset amid the health crisis.

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, the actress - who is isolating at her home in London - reflected: "The world is in chaos. I'm not an optimistic person at the moment."

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