Miriam Margolyes has expressed her regret over not making more significant lifestyle changes after a surgery last year, revealing that she now struggles to walk.
The beloved actress, known for her role in Harry Potter, underwent a transcatheter aortic valve replacement to avoid the more invasive open-heart surgery.
Despite the procedure, the 83-year-old continues to face health challenges, revealing that she is now registered disabled and may need to use a wheelchair due to a back condition.
The British star suffers from spinal stenosis, a condition where the spaces around the spinal cord narrow, compressing the nerves and potentially limiting her mobility, which could eventually confine her to a wheelchair.
In an interview with Closer, Margolyes shared: “I can't walk very well, and I'm registered disabled, so I use all kinds of assistance.
“I've got two sticks and a walker and they're such a bore, but I've just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun.”
The Call The Midwife star also expressed regret over not making significant lifestyle changes to better her health, lamenting her inability to manage her weight, describing it as a personal setback.
During an appearance on the How To Fail podcast, the actress candidly admitted that not overcoming her weight challenges felt like a defeat.
Margolyes told host Elizabeth Day in September: “I am a blubber mass. I am fat. And to be fat and 82 is truly pathetic.”
The TV star has since also revealed her fears as she gets older and worries that she won't be able to afford carers to look after her as her health worsens.
She previously told RadioTimes: “I'm worried that I won't have enough money for carers when I finally get paralysed, or whatever it is that's going to happen to me.”
The Age of Innocence star added that she is now focusing on saving to provide for her and her partner Heather. Her new BBC series, Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure, is set to return to screens this Friday.
