Actress Miriam Margolyes shocked viewers of a comedy chat show by admitting she had wanted Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'to die' when he was hospitalised with coronavirus last month.

The 78 year-old star of Harry Potter was asked on Channel 4's The Last Leg: Locked Down Under how she thought the Government had handled the crisis. 

“Appallingly, of course, appallingly,” she said. "It’s a disgrace, it’s a scandal. It’s a public 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.”

Viewers and the presenters Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdecombe were left horrified with her remarks.

One user wrote on social media: “Miriam’s comment on Boris…..disgusting…”

Another said: “I love the last leg but I don’t like Miriam Margolyes saying she wishes Boris dead.”

However one user defended her and said: “Just remember the UK has the 2nd worse death rate after the dumpster fire that is America. Anyone else agree with Miriam Margolyes?”