Miriam Margolyes doubles down on her remarks about Australia and says Aussies need to take criticism

Harry Potter star Miriam Margoyles has doubled down on her attack of Australia, saying she thinks the nation needs to learn how to take criticism.

The 79-year-old British-born actress has come under fire for describing the nation as ‘brutal’ and ‘greedy’ ahead of the release of the ABC documentary series Almost Australian.

Speaking to Studio 10 on Tuesday, the adopted Australian refused to apologise for her evaluation of the country. 

‘I think that Australians don’t really like to be criticised, nobody does, but you’ve got to take it and what I say to people who find my criticism impertinent, I would say I love Australia and I want it to be better, and the only way to make things better is to criticise them,’ she said.

Miriam said there was ‘no point’ in lying about her opinion of the country after travelling so far from home. 

‘I may be wrong but it’s the way I see it. It’s stupid to try and pretend. Some things I liked, some things I didn’t. I’m honest and I think that’s much better than p***ing about,’ she said.   

She also responded to attacks on her own personality, saying one personality trait doesn’t define who she is. 

‘I can whinge if something needs whingeing about but I’m also a great praiser and a great appreciator, you’ve got to take me all, not just half of me,’ she added.

The British expat was warned by her longtime partner, Heather Sutherland, about criticising Australia too harshly in her new series, but she didn’t take the advice.

The Harry Potter star, who became a naturalised citizen seven years ago, travelled from coast to coast for her series Almost Australian, but the process left her feeling disenchanted with her adopted home country.

Miriam made headlines on Monday for saying she was horrified by the ‘brutality’ and ‘greed’ of modern Australia – and has since declared in an interview with The New Daily that she won’t be making any apologies for her remarks.

‘I hope people will not be too annoyed about the things I have to say, but in the end, to be honest, f**k ’em if they are. That’s tough. I’m telling it like I see it,’ she said. 

It comes after Miriam, who is best known for playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series, sparked outrage by saying Australia was ‘harsher’ than she had first thought when she arrived in the 1980s.

‘We think we know what [Australia is] like, but we don’t. It’s quite complicated. It’s layered. Lots of things happen. I do think I was right that it’s harsher than it was. Maybe that’s true in the world,’ she told TV Tonight. 

‘There’s a harshness about it, which I didn’t expect.’  

She said the most confronting part of the documentary was having to visit Surfers Paradise, a highly developed stretch of coastline on Queensland’s Gold Coast popular with holidaymakers.

‘There is a brutality there and a greed in Australia, which I don’t like,’ she said.

‘You know, the developers. Those horrible structures along the coast, that people should be ashamed of living in. Surfers Paradise, it’s disgusting. I think that actually shocked me because I don’t go there. It’s not my world and I don’t want to go there.’

The BAFTA-winning actress, who lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, became a citizen in January 2013 after years of dividing her time between London and Australia.

‘I don’t like class distinction and there is far too much of that in England,’ she said after her citizenship ceremony.

‘There’s an energy here – an optimism, a vitality. I think England doesn’t have that anymore. There’s an irony and not accepting bulls**t [in Australia] and I love that, that straight-talking stuff.’

Almost Australian airs Tuesday at 8.30pm on ABC and ABC iview