Miranda Hart opens up on ‘emotional’ reality of returning to TV amid health battle

Miranda Hart has opened up about feeling “very emotional” following a decade away from the public eye due to illness.

The actress and comedienne, who is one of the best-known faces on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, has been battling Lyme disease for almost 10 years.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans through the bites of infected ticks, according to the NHS.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Miranda Hart delighted fans with a Little Mix dance routine

BBC/Studio Lambert

Opening up about her illness on This Morning, Hart said that her body felt “a bit shocked” whilst participating in the BBC series, which involves lots of physical challenges.

“A lot of people who are watching the show didn’t know that I’d been for 10 years kind of really quite unwell.

“It was my first television back since feeling better and so there were times it was very emotional,” she said, explaining she had endured periods of being bed-bound for months.

Miranda Hart is a contestant in Celebrity Traitors

PA Media

The condition can be difficult to diagnose as it shares similar symptoms with other illnesses.

Hart documented her time living with the chronic illness in her 2024 memoir, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You.

She has explained that she contracted a tick-borne illness from a bite she sustained when she was a teenager in Virginia, USA.

During her time on Celebrity Traitors, the 53-year-old became emotional when comedian Joe Lycett was banished from the castle.

Miranda Hart said she was shocked her body was able to keep up with the challenges

BBC

“I got particularly emotional with Joe leaving because we’d had such a good time together, and we’d played and connected.

“That’s a lot of what was in my memoir... the important things that help us thrive even when we’re suffering.

“It was just great because I didn’t think I’d maybe walk round my park at one point even. I couldn’t leave the house or get out of bed for months.”

She added her time on the show was like “a cross between boarding school, Outward Bound and a murder mystery weekend”.

“I’m like, fine, I’m all in. But my body was a bit shocked,” she said.