Miranda Hart on coping with Celebrity Traitors as she returns to public eye after ME battle
The star has been out of the showbiz spotlight for some timeMiranda Hart is returning to the spotlight in The Celebrity Traitors after quietly battling with a long-term health condition.
The actress and comedian, 53, was diagnosed with ME after previously contracting Lyme disease.
Also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the condition causes extreme exhaustion, pain and flu-like symptoms.
At her lowest, Miranda was left housebound and was forced to bow out of showbiz for several years.
But next week, Miranda will be seen heading into Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands.
And she even admits her body “relaxed” and she “smiled” after she learned she’d got a space in the Celebrity Traitors line-up.
Miranda Hart on Celebrity Traitors after ME battle
Miranda first spoke about her health while promoting her 2024 memoir, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You. She described her six-year stint in the hugely popular BBC comedy Miranda as “walking through treacle”.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, Miranda 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, she was unable to leave the house: “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.”
Medics then discovered she had contracted Lyme disease. Miranda is believed to have caught it while living in the US in her teens. As it had been left untreated for so long, it had led to ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
Miranda has now spoken about her decision to take part in series two of The Celebrity Traitors after such a long struggle.
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’
Celebrity Traitors fans will be familiar with the format. Each day, the celebs are set mission to bag coins for the prize pot. The missions can also result in shields for a lucky few to protect them from murder in the game.
But they can often be very physically gruelling. So how will Miranda cope?
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!”
Good luck, Miranda. We’re rooting for you!
The Celebrity Traitors starts at 8pm on BBC One on Thursday October 1, 2026.
