Miranda Hart shares update on ‘long-term health issues’ as she reveals reason for TV return

Miranda Hart is stepping back into the spotlight after a period of ill health in the new season of The Celebrity Traitors. The 53-year-old comedian, best known for starring in her eponymous sitcom, previously shared her struggle with chronic fatigue after being diagnosed with Lyme disease. 

On why she decided to sign up for the BBC series, Miranda shared, “I haven’t done much TV work for a long time, having only recently come out of long-term ill health issues and when I was offered this, my whole body sort of relaxed, I smiled, and I just wanted to jump about like a schoolgirl with joy.”

“It’s just fun. It’s outdoors, it’s games. All the stuff I love,” she continued. “It’s play basically. And I’m passionate about encouraging people to play more generally, and this game is that in spades.”

Miranda’s Lyme disease diagnosis

In 2024, Miranda revealed that she contracted a tick-borne illness as a teenager, which is when her symptoms first began.

© Comic Relief

The comic lived with symptoms for many years before being diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. She was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2020. 

Managing her symptoms 

Miranda, who secretly tied the knot with Richard Fairs in July 2024 after meeting in lockdown, still struggles with symptoms of ME but feels “well enough” to challenge herself. 

“I’m still living with elements of ME, and that brings fatigue and pain to manage, but I have come to a point where I feel well enough to step out, and that’s also partly why I’m doing this,” Miranda explained. “The joy of mucking about on television again will hopefully outweigh some of the challenges. And I think it will be challenging on my body, so it’ll be interesting, and it’ll take some courage as this is a big next step,” she continued. “When you live with a chronic illness, it’s invisible, so people don’t know that you’re sitting there in pain. But then it reminds you that everybody’s got their thing.”

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She added: “So, I’m also really looking forward to making friends and looking after each other and hopefully they can carry me up a hill or whatever we’re going to have to do!”

Support from her Miranda co-stars 

Miranda, who joins the likes of Bella Ramsey, James Acaster, James Blunt, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Richard E Grant, Rob Beckett and Ross Kemp in the line-up, revealed her Miranda co-stars are “so excited” for her. 

© David M. Benett

“Oh yes, we’re really good friends,” she said. “I got messages in the WhatsApp group about this. Everyone’s so excited.”