Margolyes

STAR Wars legend Michael Pennington has died aged 82.

The veteran stage and screen actor, who is best known for his role as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi, is thought to have passed away, according to The Telegraph.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

Pennington’s other film credits include as Laertes in Hamlet (1969), alongside Anthony Hopkins, and as former Labour Party leader Michael Foot in The Iron Lady (2011), alongside Meryl Streep.

He also appeared in TV shows The Bill, The Tudors and Father Brown, as well as TV movie The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

His agent Lesley Duff told The Sun he had been living at Denville Hall, a care home for retired actors, in his later years.

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His good friend and fellow screen veteran Miriam Margolyes confirmed news of his passing in a post uploaded to her social media.

The Harry Potter actress emotionally penned: “Michael Pennington has died.

“An old friend, from Cambridge days, a very fine actor, brilliant, wise, clear. I am sad beyond measure.

“Bless your dear memory. Old chum.”

Replying to a comment underneath her post, the actress said: “It happened v recently at Denville Hall. I am sad to confirm.”

Tributes soon poured in following the sad news.

One devastated fan wrote: “May the force be with you brother.”

Another called the actor a “legend”, writing: “May he rest in peace.”

Pennington’s death comes just a year after his partner Author Prue Skene passed away aged 81.

As well as his screen work, Michael was an acclaimed figure in the theatre world, having appeared in scores of Shakespeare productions.

In 1986, Michael co-founded the English Shakespeare Company and was the joint artistic director until 1992.

He was also an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Pennington married actress Katharine Barker in 1964, and they welcomed a son, Mark, before they divorced in 1967.

Miriam Margolyes opened up about the health problems she lives with and issued a warning to others on how one of them could be prevented

Miriam Margolyes has shared an update on a health problem she has lived with for more than 40 years. The 84-year-old revealed she suffers from a long-term shoulder injury that means she is unable to put on a bra by herself.

Reflecting on being filmed in her bra for her latest documentary Miriam Margolyes Made Me Me, she said on The Romesh Ranganathan Show: “I did have that new bra on and it did me the world of good.

I need several people to put it on for me and I’m on my own at the moment.

“The problem is, I’ve got a bad shoulder, I’ve had it for a long time actually because I didn’t know how to fall and I had to fall in a play for six months about 40 years and the rotator cuff doesn’t quite cuff or rotate, whatever it should do.

“So, I can’t put my hands behind my back. I can manage with an apron because it’s lower down, but with a bra it’s a little bit [more difficult] and you have to sort of arrange your t**s into it.

“And I need help basically, so my lodgers do bra duty, but I haven’t got them with me today so I had to do it myself,” the actress shared.

In the same podcast, the Harry Potter star opened up about what she considers the “worst bit” of being in her eighties.

Asked for advice by Romesh’s mother, she said: “The worst bit about being 80 is my weak pelvic floor. I p**s myself all the time and everywhere I go I always take spare knickers because you never know.

“And that’s honestly the truth and I don’t like it and I don’t say it to be funny, I say it because it’s true and it’s a bl***y nuisance,” Miriam added.

“But if I done pelvic floor exercises maybe I wouldn’t be so p***y. So do your pelvic floor exercises,” she warned.

On a more positive note, the actress said the “best thing” about turning 80 is the confidence she now feels when meeting new people.

“The best thing about being 80 and I’m going to be 85 [soon], is not being afraid to meet people, not being afraid to go into a room and just be.

“Sometimes, that’s because people know who I am and they’re sort of starstruck because they think I’m a star, but it gives me confidence.

“I feel more empowered to be and go into a room and talk to people,” she added.

Miriam has faced a number of other health challenges over the years, including undergoing an aortic valve replacement in 2023. She also lives with Spinal stenosis, which has affected her mobility.

She previously told Closer Magazine: “I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled. I use all kinds of assistance. I’ve got two sticks and a walker and they’re such a bore, but I’ve just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun.”