Interview: Miriam Margolyes discusses new series ‘A New Australian Adventure’

Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure will see the actor return to Oz for the trip of a lifetime this August on BBC Two and iPlayer.

For Miriam, Australia has always been a land of opportunity and aspiration; something she needs in her life, now more than ever. At 82, she’s just undergone a major medical procedure.

Miriam wants to embrace change and be open to reinventing herself, if she wants to stay relevant and connected. So to give herself a kickstart by returning to Australia in search of new possibilities. This time, she’ll meet a whole host of colourful characters and head to three places she’s always wanted to explore: Perth, Broken Hill and Byron Bay. All three are iconic locations that epitomise the things she loves about Australia; but are they also, like her, in the throes of change?

Interview with Miriam Margolyes

You’ve spent a lot of your life in Australia. Why do you consider it maybe your home away from home?

I came to Australia first because of my partner. And when I got to know Australia a bit, and I knew the people and the countryside, I just felt completely at home. And because there isn’t the same class system, there’s a different class system but not the same. I just started to feel I fitted in completely.

Why did you want to make this series?

I wanted to make this series because the more I live in Australia, and the more I make documentaries here and enjoy doing so, I feel that there’s still more to unpack and mine – I really want to mine the people, because it’s the people that make the place. So, the more people that I can meet, especially at a time of my life, where I feel that I’m, as it were, in transit, from one stage to another stage of life, I get an excitement from it. And I will want to make even more. It’s an inexhaustible subject Australia, because the people are coming and going, and the country is in flux. And it’s a very interesting time to investigate.

What do you think that the viewers will find most surprising about the series?

The most surprising thing that I found about the series and which I imagine will be the same for everyone is how fascinating compelling and beautiful Broken Hill is. It’s a town so unexpected so far away. And yet everyone comes back to it. All the people leave and come back, no coincidence. 

You say you want you to approach the series with an open mind. Were there any experiences that sort of changed your opinion on anything during the filming?

I do come to nearly all the interviews I do with an open mind, because that’s the only way you can really reach people is by showing them that you’re listening and prepared to take on board, whatever they say. I think I was a little bit prejudiced against what you call those things like marijuana and soft drugs. I was a bit concerned when I came to Nimbin that I would be put off by the attitude towards soft drugs. But in the end, I decided that it isn’t the drugs that make the people, it’s the people reacting to the drugs. And I’ve changed my mind about whether soft drugs should be available, I now think they should.

You have had so many adventures throughout your life. Is there one that is the most memorable and why?

I don’t think of my programmes and the things that happened to me as adventures because that implies a lack of seriousness towards what happens. Everything that’s happened to me has happened because I walked towards life rather than away from it. And I hope that won’t change. Although I’m older and less mobile, I do hope that I still get the chance to travel and find out and test my reactions against a surprising number of people and things, but always I see that a smile and a friendly handshake or a tap on the shoulder is more powerful than a gun.

You’ve had such a varied career. Is there anything that you haven’t done which you would still like to do?

I’d like to travel to places around Scotland, Ireland and Wales keeping my green credentials intact. Of course, I missed going to Africa and Antarctica and South America but the nearer home one is, I think the more surprised one should be.

The first episode will air on Friday 2 August at 9pm on BBC Two, with all three episodes available on iPlayer the same day.

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