Miranda Hart has reflected on a years-long health crisis, which she confessed during last night’s Celebrity Traitors had convinced her she’d never embark on a gentle walk again.
During the episode – which also saw Traitors Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny attempting to “bore” one of the Faithfuls to death – Hart admitted to being taken aback by her own strength.
The comedian participated in a mission which saw the show’s cast asked to collect and assemble parts of Easter Island-like statues on a rainy hillside.
“Three or four years ago, due to illness, I thought that I may not ever have a gentle walk around a park again,” Hart said. “And now I find myself up a Scottish Highland, wheelbarrowing along a very large head. It’s really exciting.”
In 2024, the comedian revealed that she had been diagnosed with agoraphobia and then ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which prevented her from enjoying her career. She described life during the run of her star-making sitcom Miranda as like “wading through treacle”.
“I lost my joy,” she said during an appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. “I know that I hadn’t enjoyed my career in the way that I knew I could have if I hadn’t been ill.” She added that she eventually “hit rock bottom” when she suffered a total “collapse” after her hit sitcom came to an end in 2015.
“I was housebound and bedbound for years,” she said. “I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have a social life. I didn’t have any responsibilities or identities.”
It led to Hart largely dropping out of the public eye, years which she described as if she was leading “a half life [and] a very debilitated life”.
Hart said that she subsequently underwent several blood tests after hitting rock bottom, and it was then that some “very clever” experts were able to join the dots and diagnose her with Lyme disease.
It has been speculated that she contracted the illness while briefly living in Virginia as a teenager. The state is a hotspot for the bacterial infection, which is spread by bites from infected blacklegged ticks.
Lyme disease can result in several complications, including myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), but those who are promptly diagnosed have the best outcomes.
While the odds of contracting the illness in the UK are low, there are some areas where people are advised to be wary of ticks, such as in the Scottish Highlands.
Before joining Celebrity Traitors, Hart said that she is still living with “elements” of ME, which brings with it fatigue and pain. “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,” Hart said. “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.”
This week’s episodes of the show saw the successful banishment of Traitor Hannah Fry, as well as the unsuccessful banishment of Faithful Joe Lycett, who earlier had begged to be recruited by the Traitors.
The Celebrity Traitors continues next Thursday at 8pm on BBC One.
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