Miranda Hart reveals she was ‘bedbound for years’ before having a ‘total collapse’ following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

As I delve into this heartfelt narrative of Miranda Hart’s journey, I find myself deeply moved by her resilience and courage. For over three decades, she has battled with the unrelenting symptoms of Lyme Disease, a battle that began when she was just fourteen years old. The neurological symptoms, the fatigue, the feeling of toxicity – these are not mere inconveniences but formidable foes that have challenged her every day.


Miranda Hart shared that she spent several years confined to bed after her self-titled sitcom ended, due to a case of Lyme disease that hadn’t been identified beforehand.

In a recent conversation, the actress, aged 51, who completed work on Miranda back in 2015, revealed her challenges in stepping out of the house and experiencing minimal joy for an extended period following its conclusion.

Eventually, I found myself completely overwhelmed in the midst of my three-decade-long struggle with the health issue, a situation that ultimately led to me being diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, often referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

To The Times, the comedian opened up, saying: “I’ve missed the spark in my work because I wasn’t well, and I realize now that I didn’t fully savor my career as I should have.

For quite some time, I found myself confined at home and to my bed, without employment, devoid of a social circle, and lacking both obligations and personal identities.

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

After her popular sitcom concluded, Miranda experienced a significant breakdown in the ensuing years, reaching a point where she had hit an all-time low. It wasn’t until later that she discovered she was battling Lyme disease.

Instead of constantly explaining to physicians that she was living a mere shadow of a life, severely incapacitated, yet clueless about the reason behind it, she eventually shared how specialists managed to connect the dots and attribute her symptoms to a specific time in her adolescence when she lived in Virginia.

In the last decade, despite playing significant roles like Miss Hannigan in Annie (West End, 2017) and Emma in the 2020 feature film, Miranda has mostly avoided the limelight.

She also mentioned that, although she’s not completely healed yet, she remains hopeful about her future and conveyed her sense of relief as her situation is now better understood.

She expressed her confidence that she will improve, as she’s just started venturing back into the world again. If this were a specific condition and this was the approach to manage it, she feels capable. She mentioned that the most challenging aspect about such fatigue-related conditions is the lack of comprehension, the uncertainty about when there might be an end in sight.

Following Miranda sharing a seldom-revealed perspective on her prolonged health struggle in her latest memoir titled “I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You,” she discusses her ordeal and the instance when she suddenly fell due to poor health.

Last night on The One Show, there I was, practically bursting with excitement, when Miranda herself confirmed the long-awaited news – she’s hitched! After weeks of swirling rumors, she unveiled her mystery husband live on air. I can hardly contain my enthusiasm as I revel in this delightful revelation!

Behind the bright smiles that audiences recognize from her roles in “Call The Midwife” and her own sitcom, “Miranda,” the comedian, age 51, has revealed in private conversations with medical professionals that she felt deeply unwell, expressing: ‘I feel contaminated and poisoned’.

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease
Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease
Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

It took medics 33 years to discover Miranda had been battling with the bacterial infection Lyme Disease, after initially mislabelling her as being agoraphobic – an anxiety disorder characterised by symptoms of anxiety in situations. 

She remembers rushing from a physician’s consultation, sobbing heavily, following their announcement that she was constantly fatigued, expressing exasperation: “I’m at a loss about how to handle you.

The comic officially received the diagnosis in lockdown and believes she contracted Lyme Disease when she 14 after battling nasty flu-like symptoms in Virginia. 

What she wrote: ‘The neurological symptoms I experienced at age 14 due to Lyme disease were challenging for me, and they worsened as I grew older into my forties. The fatigue caused by cell depletion also increased, making everything quite difficult.’

As soon as she received her diagnosis, she said, ‘I closed that Zoom meeting, shut my laptop, and sat there motionless and stunned. A whirlwind of emotions hit me – shock was one, but there was also an immediate deep sense of sadness and disappointment. For over three decades, I’ve known something wasn’t right. I remembered every time I’d told various doctors, “I feel toxic and poisoned,” or, “It’s like I have the flu every day without a fever.”‘

It’s fascinating how our bodies sometimes communicate what we might be experiencing, and I found myself feeling a growing sense of irritation whenever people suggested I had agoraphobia.

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease
Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

In reality, what actually caused my body to collapse when engaging in any sort of activity or stimulating setting was not my attempt to deal with it appropriately, but rather a lack of energy and an extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Miranda found it challenging to figure out how to tell her audience about her diagnosis without being seen as merely whining or always feeling exhausted.

However, Lyme Disease wreaked havoc on her body, leading to a series of continuous medical evaluations. Furthermore, viewers began noticing her conspicuous absence from their television screens.

2017 saw the announcement that Miranda wouldn’t continue with Call The Midwife, due to a heavy workload being her explanation.

However, it was later disclosed during a comedy show in London that she had been experiencing poor health for some time.

At that point, she mentioned feeling out of sorts due to her illness from the previous year, which prevented her from engaging in regular exercise.

Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease
Miranda Hart reveals she was 'bedbound for years' before having a 'total collapse' following the end of her sitcom as she details battling undiagnosed Lyme disease

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2024-10-14 15:34

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