Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure will see the actor return to Oz for the trip of a lifetime this August on BBC Two and iPlayer

After undergoing major heart surgery in London last year, the 83-year-old is giving herself a kickstart by revisiting the country she affectionately regards as her second abode – and a land of endless possibilities.

Across three programmes made for Aussie network ABC, she embarks on a quest to explore her sense of self, visiting three places she’s always wanted to explore – Perth, Byron Bay and Broken Hill.

All three iconic locations epitomise the things Miriam loves about Australia, but are they also, like her, in the throes of change and transformation.

Some are struggling or facing a bleak future, others are prospering, but all say something about where the Land of Oz is heading as a nation.

Along the way, the actress encounters colourful and diverse communities who offer her lessons in resilience and adaptation.

But can Miriam uncover what she needs? Is Australia still a place where people can forge their own futures? And can people, against the odds, find the acceptance and belonging they crave?

“The more I live in Australia, and the more I make documentaries here and enjoy doing so, I feel that there’s still more to unpack and mine,” she says about the new series.

“I really want to mine the people, because it’s the people that make the place.

“So, the more people that I can meet, especially at a time of my life, where I feel that I’m, as it were, in transit, from one stage to another stage of life, I get an excitement from it.

“It’s an inexhaustible subject Australia, because the people are coming and going, and the country is in flux. And it’s a very interesting time to investigate.”

In the first episode, she is in Perth, Western Australia – a place where people head to carve out new futures for themselves.

She meets Kylie, the skipper of the Australian Blind Sailing team (who takes her for a sail on the Swan), Zoe, a university-educated sex worker, and a group of Jaguar car enthusiasts.

Miriam also explores her Jewish roots with ‘Rabbi Dan’, who moved to Perth from the UK after a bomb was placed under his car, and has an emotional meeting with Fremantle locals Tony and Jim, part of Australia’s Stolen Generation – Aboriginal children were removed from their families through government policies.

Miriam’s latest trip to Australia is hopefully the start of a series of travelogues with the star, as, after such a long and varied career, there are still a fair few places she wants to visit.

“I’d like to travel to places around Scotland, Ireland and Wales, keeping my green credentials intact,” she says.

“Of course, I missed going to Africa and Antarctica and South America but the nearer home one is, I think the more surprised one should be.”