Miranda Hart has spoken publicly about the chronic illness that left her bedbound, as she appears in the new series of Celebrity Traitors on BBC One. The actress and comedian endured years of severe fatigue and pain before finally receiving a diagnosis of ME caused by Lyme disease in 2020.
Years without answers
Miranda Hart spent years visiting medical professionals without a clear diagnosis. She was eventually told she had ME triggered by Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. She has said she collapsed and became housebound as her exhaustion grew so severe she could not work out how to lift a glass of water.
Speaking on the Graham Norton Show, Miranda shared details about her condition that left her terrified for her survival. She said: "The book starts with me collapsed on my sitting room floor with fatigue basically and not really knowing what was going on."
She added: "For years and years I've been passed from doctor to doctor with me saying I'm so fatigued, I've got all this pain I didn't know what's going on and no-one could give me any answers, which sadly is a familiar story for many. So I just didn't know what to do, I didn't have any answers."
Diagnosis and memoir
Miranda revealed that medics initially told her she suffered from "anxiety and agoraphobia", which "didn't ring true at the time". She said: "I finally got a diagnosis only really relatively recently of ME caused by Lyme disease so my whole life story was rewritten - I knew there was something wrong."
Doctors concluded she must have contracted the tick-borne illness from around the age of 14 or 15 while living in America. Miranda said: "I had it in my system for years."
In an effort to support others, Miranda wrote her memoir I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You, detailing her health struggles and obstacles over the preceding decade. Within the book, she explores the difficulty of coping with an invisible illness that she describes as "misunderstood" while enduring a "half life" without explanations.
New series of Celebrity Traitors
The new series of Celebrity Traitors returned to BBC One on October 1, with presenter Claudia Winkleman welcoming 21 celebrities into the castle. Actor Richard E Grant and Love Island presenter Maya Jama were chosen as this series' Traitors. Richard appeared to reveal his identity to fellow contestants minutes into the series.
Miranda shared about her book on Instagram: "Thank you for the lovely comments after @thismorning So very moved by people feeling helped and supported by my story. We're all in this mysterious life together. Love oo." The Celebrity Traitors continues on BBC One and iPlayer tonight at 8pm.
