Miriam Margolyes has admitted she was ‘awful’ for calling Steph McGovern ugly.

The Harry Potter actress, 82, is well-known for speaking her mind and rarely holding back when it comes to dishing out her opinions.

While her scathing remarks can regularly be quite humorous, she’s now backed down from a previous comment that hit below the belt.

During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Thursday, Miriam was reminded of the time when she took aim at the hosts’ looks.

Calling into the show from Italy, Steph, 41, brought up the last time Miriam was on the show in 2021, in which the actress made some less than complimentary comments about her appearance.

In that exchange, Miriam told her to her face that she didn’t think Steph was ‘beautiful’.

Miriam Margolyes has apologised after previously calling Steph McGovern ugly (Picture: Channel 4)

As Miriam told her she was ‘looking good’ and complimented her ‘sparkly top’, Steph said: ‘Thank you – because I remember the last time you were on. You said to me about not being pretty which then set off a whole thing.

‘I know you weren’t saying it as an insult – you were just saying that I might potentially have other things I could offer rather than looks!’

Although Steph saw the funny side of the remarks, Miriam – who didn’t appear to remember the past comments – was left-red faced and acknowledge what she’d said was ‘awful’.

‘What cheek of me! My god, I’m sorry I said that. How rude!’ she said to Steph.

However, Steph replied: ‘Listen, that’s what I love about you. You just say what you think! And where does that confidence come from?

‘You strike me as someone who just says how you feel and how you think and that is so refreshing.’

The host reminded Miriam of her past comments (Picture: Channel 4)

Miriam went on and said that while she liked to ‘tell the truth’, she didn’t think she should always ‘just say what pops into my head because it might hurt someone and it’s rude’.

‘And that sounds as if I’m saying you’re not pretty or something like that which is awful. I should never say that!’

She then declared she was going to punish herself by ‘spanking’ herself ‘several times’.

During her last appearance on the show Miriam had initially been reflecting on her own appearance and said she’d had a ‘very very lucky career’ because she ‘wasn’t pretty’.

‘I’m short and fat and I’ve got no neck. That’s a real disadvantage but I managed to make a living and that’s a great credit to me.’

While Steph said she should avoid making ‘derogatory’ comments about herself, Miriam added: ‘I am not beautiful! That’s true!’

Steph didn’t seem to be too offended by what had been said (Picture: Tim P. Whitby/WireImage)

However, she then turned her attention towards Steph’s appearance and dished out what appeared to be a back-handed compliment.

‘You have to accept these things darling! I mean you’re not beautiful, but you’ve got something that makes people want to watch you and I’ve got the same.’

Steph responded by saying that she believed the actress was ‘onto something there because I think being beautiful is a hindrance’.

However Miriam was horrified when reminded of what came out of her mouth (Picture: S Meddle/ ITV/ REX/ Shutterstock)

‘I’m glad I’m not the beautiful one because then there’s too many expectations on you. You’re better off being us.’

This was far from the first time Miriam’s comments became very personal.

In 2020 Ofcom received 402 complaints after she said she ‘wanted Boris Johnson to die’ from coronavirus during an appearance on The Last Leg.

The following year she declared on The Graham Norton Show that ‘really didn’t like’ Winona Ryder, who she referred to as a ‘shoplifter’, while last year she branded Leonardo Di Caprio as ‘smelly’.

Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays from 12pm on Channel 4.

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‘What a cheek of me!’