Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes reveals she's asked her partner to help her die if she's struck down with a debilitating illness - and insists that suicide is 'not a terrible thing'

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Miriam Margolyes has called for a review of the legislation around friends or family helping loved ones die with dignity, which is currently charged as murder.

The 77-year-old British-Australian actress, who is known for her roles in Babe and for recently more appearing in Call The Midwives, appears in new two-part BBC Two series, Miriam's Dead Good Adventure, to explore the attitudes around aging and death.

The first episode, which airs on Sunday, sees Miriam travelling to America to meet people who are trying to achieve unlimited lifespans by thinking and feeling differently about death. 

She joins the world's largest gathering of radical life extension enthusiasts at the Revolution Against Ageing and Death Festival in California. 

Miriam meets residents of Loma Linda in San Diego, which is in one of the world's five 'Blue Zones' where people live longer than anyone else on earth, and meets a community who survive ten years longer than the average American - which they say is down to their attitudes towards health and religion.

Speaking to the Mail,  Miriam shared her own experiences of death and revealed why she believes assisted suicide should be an option for those suffering.

Miriam Margolyes has called for a review of the legislation around friends or family helping loved ones die with dignity, which is currently charged as murder. She is pictured visiting her parents' grave in the UK in her new two-part BBC Two series, Miriam's Dead Good Adventure

Speaking about the taboo and awkwardness around death, she said:  'Things need to be talked about and confronted. That's what I wanted to do in the series.

'I'd rather be alive than dead. Dying is the thing that worries people and I understand that. It worries me. You don't want to be incontinent and smelly and helpless.'

Admitting that she finds the  phrase 'pass away' nauseating and diminishing, the voice artist revealed how she has had to face up to the topic in recent years. 

'I'm nearly 78 and started to lose friends within the last five years, people that I really cared about died and that made me confront the issue.' 

Revealing what ignited her passion around assisted death, she explained: 'A close friend, Sonia fraser, was 76, when she died of pancreatic cancer. 

The first episode, which airs on Sunday, sees Miriam travelling to California to meet people who are trying to achieve unlimited lifespans by thinking and feeling differently about death. She is pictured looking at an 'assisted death pod' in America

'She was in pain and utter misery and she said: 'Oh Miriam, when will it end. Why am I going through this. I want it to stop now.' 

'I felt incredibly sad and I thought why do we have to go through this? Why is pain prolonged. Why can't we let ourselves go. Why is there no legislation to allow for the loosening of the mortal coil. That concentrated my mind on the subject.' 

Explaining her views on euthanasia, Miriam addressed the controversial 'Sarko pod', a 3D coffin which uses liquid nitrogen for a painless death in minutes.

She said: 'There aren't any guarantees in life, especially after Brexit. I certainly believe in euthanasia.

'I saw Dr Death's Sarko pod being printed on a 3D printer - it's an extraordinary thing. If people are ill and have a reason for dying then it's a good way to die.

'It's an amazing contraption. I'm not sure I'd sail away in it but I think his attitude is very much my attitude. 

Miriam is pictured playfully posing in her coffin after looking at the different ones on offer in the UK

Miriam is seen posing with the makers of personalised coffins on the show, although she has since admitted that she has yet to pick hers up

'[But] I believe in a bit more supervision. He believes that it's up to the individual to make the decision.

'A susceptible person might embark on a suicide having listened to him despite there being other options for them.'

She conceded: 'He's troubling because he's making the journey to death a little bit too easy. I don't think it should be that easy. It's such an irreversible step. You need to be very sure you want to die before your time.' 

Addressing the topic of suicide, Miriam admitted she believes 'young suicide' is a waste.

'As long as death is voluntary it's OK, I don't think suicide is a terrible thing,' she said. 

Miriam meets residents of Loma Linda in San Diego, which is in one of the world's five 'Blue Zones' where people live longer than anyone else on earth, who survive ten years longer than the average American - which they say is down to their attitudes towards health and religion.

Recalling her own parent's death, Miriam admitted she would have helped her mother die if she had requested it. She is seen visiting the grave of both her parents

'For some, life becomes unbearable and they want to end it. [However] young suicide is a tragedy and a waste. That does disturb me. If people want to end their life because they're in the grip of an horrific illness that won't get better then it's understandable isn't it?'

Looking back at her own life, which she describes a 'glorious journey of discovery and delight', she added: 'I've been fortunate. I've been loved and had a job that i've loved. My life is exciting and fulfilling. 

'What was extraordinary about going to America and meeting all those very strange people was that they think you don't have to die. Where did they get that idea from?'.

Miriam, who has been with partner Heather Sutherland since 1967, revealed they have addressed the morbid of what to do if one of them falls ill.

She said: 'One of the things I've always said to her is 'please don't let me suffer'. 

'She's never said it to me but then she's much more stoic than I am. She has more fibre in her character. I'm a bit wibbly wobbly. If anybody I loved and was close to asked me to help them to die, and I thought they had a good reason for doing so, I would.

'I hope to fight for is a change in the law so that those who want to die can get their friends to help them without them being accused of murder.' 

Recalling her own parents' death, Miriam admitted she would have helped her mother die if she had requested it.

She said: 'My mother's death was absolutely hideous. My father did the caring and then I cared for my father when he got old. 

'My father cared for her on a daily basis - she had a stroke and lost mental faculties. If my mother had asked to be put down, I think I would have helped her. But she didn't.

'It was far and away the worst time of my life and it's the thing I'm most frightened of: having a stroke and being in that state.'

Speaking about the series, she admitted: 'The programme was one of the most difficult and challenging things I've ever done. It affected me deeply. 

'I'm still working through what I saw and wasn't the final chapter on everything.

'I hope that people will watch and feel that things that took part in the programme will inspire people to think about the end of their own lives.'

Miriam's Dead Good Adventure airs 21 April at 9pm on BBC Two.