Miranda Hart opens up on her debilitating illness and the Celebrity Traitors ‘challenge’

Miranda Hart was struck by how far she has come in recent years, during the latest episode of Celebrity Traitors (Picture: BBC) Miranda Hart became emotional during tonight’s episode of Celebrity Traitors, as she spoke about overcoming an illness in recent years. During the mission, the comedian was struck by how far she has come in recent years, saying in the diary room: ‘Three or four years ago, due to illness, I thought I might never have a gentle walk again. ‘I find myself up a Scottish Highland wheelbarrowing along a very large head. It’s really exciting.’ The 53-year-old previously explained that appearing on the BBC show was difficult for her body, three decades after being diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, often known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which left her ‘bedbound and without joy’. As a result of the diagnosis, Miranda has been mostly away from the spotlight over the past five years, with her TV appearances limited to chat shows and Comic Relief. ‘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,’ she said, speaking ahead of the show airing. The comedian said that taking part in Celebrity Traitors would be ‘challenging’ on her body (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative) Ahead of the castle, Miranda said she was looking forward to making new friends (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry) ‘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,’ she 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. ‘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!’ Miranda first became unwell at age 15 and her illness developed into chronic fatigue. It culminated while in her mid-40s, in a collapse which at its peak left her confined to bed, with doctors struggling to diagnose the illness. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Miranda talks about her health battle in her book, I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You (Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA) What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can spread to humans by infected ticks. According to the NHS, symptoms can include rashes and flu-like symptoms, including a high temperature, headache, muscle and joint pain, tiredness and loss of energy. People with Lyme disease can get better after antibiotic treatment, which can take months for some people, but improve their symptoms over time. At one point, doctors told her there was nothing wrong with her, but eventually she was diagnosed with Lyme disease – a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. ‘In my case, my level of illness, it was never acute; I wasn’t going to collapse and die of it, luckily,’ she said. ‘But I kept saying to doctors, I know I’m leading a half-life, I’m leading a very debilitated life but with no understanding of why. ‘And it was almost like I kept saying, eventually, as the years went on, I said, if this was a named condition and this is how you manage it, then I could handle it, I could dig in. ‘I think the hardest thing about these sort of fatigue-based conditions, whatever they come from, is that lack of understanding, lack of never knowing when there’s an end date, no management plan.’ Deals of the Day See London's Christmas lights from an open-top double-decker bus this winter My skin always suffers when the heating goes on but this serum changed that The skincare formula that finally took the guesswork out of my routine Families can save up to 20% on summer 2027 holidays in Club Med's four-day sale Cold mornings are coming and this is the dressing gown I want to live in A version of this story was originally published on September 22. Arrow MORE: Axed Celebrity Traitors player astonished to discover she’s related to co-star Arrow MORE: Inside King Kenny’s career from the boxing ring to the Celebrity Traitors castle Arrow MORE: Has Joe Lycett shot himself in the foot on Celebrity Traitors? TV Newsletter Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.