Iron Lady role softens Streep’s view of ex-PM

HOLLYWOOD star Meryl Streep has spoken of how her admiration for Margaret Thatcher grew as she made a film about Britain’s former prime minister.

Streep has won plaudits and talk of an Oscar win for her role in The Iron Lady, a controversial movie which has drawn criticism from the ex-Tory party leader’s former colleagues.

Streep told the Radio Times that making the film had given her greater respect for Thatcher.

“The more I learned, the more my view of her changed. Wherever you stand on her policies, and many people didn’t like her, the scale of her influence and the fact that she got things done was extraordinary. And the mental, physical, spiritual energy that it took to live every one of those days as head of the government was phenomenal. It’s really humbling to consider that she was at 10 Downing Street for 10-and-a-half years. I admire that achievement. I stand in awe of it, even though I didn’t agree with a lot of her policies.”

Former Conservative party chairman Lord Tebbit called Streep’s performance as a frail woman suffering from dementia “half-hysterical, over-emotional”.