Miranda Hart has said taking part in Celebrity Traitors will be "challenging" on her body and that people won't know if she is "sitting there in pain", after opening up about her chronic illness diagnosis.
The 53-year-old BBC sitcom star said she initially didn't know what was causing her to feel unwell and was first diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a condition that causes extreme fatigue, along with symptoms including insomnia and brain fog.
However, it was later revealed she has Lyme disease, an illness spread by blood-feeding ticks. Lyme disease and CFS can share similar symptoms, and one can sometimes be mistaken for the other. Both conditions can cause severe fatigue, brain fog, sleep problems, and muscle or joint pain.
Miranda on her health and the show
Speaking about joining the BBC show, Miranda said: "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.
"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 admitted she agreed to the show out of a desire to have fun and play games after not doing much TV work for a long time.
She said: "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 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."
Celebrity Traitors returns in October
Celebrity Traitors is returning to the BBC in October with a fresh batch of contestants playing the ultimate game of lies, deceit and betrayal, set in the grounds of a castle in the Scottish Highlands.
The celebrities come from a range of backgrounds and will be appointed either a Traitor or a Faithful by host Claudia Winkleman. The second series follows an incredibly successful launch last year.
The star-studded cast includes journalist and broadcaster Amol Rajan, actress Bella Ramsey, comedian James Acaster, singer James Blunt, model and actress Jerry Hall, comedian Joanne McNally, comedian Joe Lycett, actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Love Island presenter Maya Jama.
Also part of the second Celebrity Traitors cast is YouTuber King Kenny, actor Michael Sheen, comedian Miranda Hart, actor Myha'la, mathematician Hannah Fry, actor Richard E. Grant, comedian Rob Beckett, comedian Romesh Ranganathan, and actors Ross Kemp, Sebastian Croft and Sharon Rooney.
The Celebrity Traitors begins on Thursday October 1 at 9.15pm on BBC One.
