Strictly Come Dancing fans were left ‘screaming’ after spotting a BBC icon in the live show audience on Saturday night (November 30).
Comedian Miranda Hart popped up on screens alongside Patricia Hodge, who played her mother in the sitcom Miranda. The pair were there to cheer on their co-star Sarah Hadland who performed a number to the song ‘Popular’ from musical Wicked, alongside dance partner Vito Coppola
Fifty-one-year-old Miranda recently opened up to fans about being “bedbound for years” due to an undiagnosed chronic illness. She admitted that she became reclusive at home after contracting Lyme disease which led to chronic fatigue syndrome, stating that she “hit rock bottom” following the end of her beloved BBC sitcom in 2015.
“I was housebound and bedbound for years,” she disclosed. “I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have a social life. I didn’t have any responsibilities or identities.”
During Saturday night’s spectacle on November 30, eagle-eyed viewers spotted the celebrity in the Strictly audience, rooting for her Miranda co-star Sarah Hadland during the musicals-themed week, reports the Mirror.
This unexpected sighting whipped fans into a frenzy as they took to social media to express their joy.
“Loved seeing the Miranda cast in the audience,” exclaimed one viewer, while another, referencing a well-known gag from the sitcom, write: “Miranda Hart and Patricia Hodge in the house! Such fun!”.
One excited viewer shared: “Miranda Hart is in the audience? Hell yeah, we might get a Miranda reunion again like when she turned up to Sarah and Vito’s dance rehearsals!”. Another couldn’t keep their enthusiasm to themselves, posting: “MIRANDA HART AND PATRICIA HODGE IN THE AUDIENCE AHHH.”
Another avid Strictly supporter blurted out: “OMG MIRANDA AND PENNY”, whilst someone else contributed: “Omg yes. Miranda is in the audience! I am gassed #Strictly.”
The buzz around Miranda’s presence in the Strictly audience was heightened following a recent revelation from I’m A Celebrity star GK Barry, who divulged how the comedian’s sitcom considerably influenced her life.
The 25-year-old podcaster opened up about her tough times at school and shared that she “used to watch box sets of Miranda to learn how to be funny.”
Strictly Come Dancing: The Results airs tonight at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer