EDINBURGH FRINGE: Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits

Harry Potter fans know her as Professor Sprout, and television viewers know her as a chat show regular famous for shocking stories and bodily functions, or as a presenter of travel documentaries.

Which is a shame because, however entertaining and beguiling she may be, the fact that she is an accomplished actor seems to be overlooked these days.

So what a treat it was to see her performing some of 'the best bits' from her compendium of Dickens' characters.

Of course, any appearance by the 83-year-old national treasure is bound to be free-spirited, and she had us in fits with her indiscreet stories and lack of boundaries, delivered with such an innocence that we applauded even the most unpalatable.

But it was her portrayals of a myriad of Dickens' characters which held me spell-bound, from the drunken midwife Mrs Gamp from Martin Chuzzlewit, to the tour de force that was Mr Bumble, the beadle in Oliver Twist, and everything in between.

In the blink of an eye and a contorted face she switched from one character to another, complete with timbre of voice and dialect.

A masterful performance for which she should really be remembered.

Margolyes & Dickens was at the Pleasance at EICC