Miranda Hart is making her return to the TV spotlight in The Celebrity Traitors after years spent battling a debilitating long-term health condition.
The 53-year-old actress and comedian was diagnosed with ME after previously contracting Lyme disease.
Also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME can cause extreme exhaustion, pain and flu-like symptoms.
Miranda was left housebound at the height of her illness and stepped away from showbiz for several years.
Now she is heading to Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands to take part in the second series of The Celebrity Traitors.
The comedian has revealed just how delighted she was to get the call, admitting her body “relaxed” and she “smiled” after finding out she had made the Celebrity Traitors line-up.
Miranda Hart on Celebrity Traitors after ME battle
Miranda previously discussed her health struggles while promoting her 2024 memoir, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You.
She described making the hugely popular BBC sitcom Miranda for six years as “walking through treacle”.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, she said: “I lost my joy and know that I hadn’t enjoyed my career in the way that I knew I could have if I hadn’t been ill.”
By 2015, Miranda could no longer leave her home. “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.”
Doctors later discovered Miranda had contracted Lyme disease. She is believed to have caught the infection while living in the US during her teens.
As it went untreated for so long, Miranda says it had led to ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
Now, Miranda has revealed why she decided to take on The Celebrity Traitors after such a difficult period.
She says: “My decision making in life generally, and certainly work, is follow the joy. I haven’t done much TV work for a long time, having only recently come out of long-term ill health issues.
“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.”
‘It will be challenging’
The Celebrity Traitors will see the famous contestants take on a series of missions during their time in the castle.
Each day, the celebrities compete to win coins for the prize pot. They can also earn shields which protect some players from murder in the game.
The missions can be physically demanding, though. Miranda admits she knows the experience will test her.
She explains: “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.
“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.”
Miranda adds: “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.
“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!”
After everything Miranda has been through, The Celebrity Traitors represents a major step back into television for the comedian.
- The Celebrity Traitors starts at 8pm on BBC One on Thursday October 1, 2026.
Read more: Joe Lycett teases ‘very different’ side of himself ahead of The Celebrity Traitors
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