Miranda Hart has reunited with her former sitcom co-stars to celebrate the 80th birthday of Patricia Hodge.
The 53-year-old actress joined her colleagues from the hit BBC comedy series for the milestone event amid her ongoing health battle with the invisible effects of myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, following a Lyme disease infection.
Sarah Hadland, who portrayed Miranda's loyal best friend and joke shop manager Stevie Sutton in the television show, shared a series of photographs from the celebration on Instagram.
In the first image, Miranda, Sarah, Sally Phillips and Patricia can be seen posing together, with a heart drawn around the four actresses.
Sarah, 55, captioned the social media post: "Our divine dame Hodglington is 80 today. What I call a reunion: WE LOVE OOOO so much Hodlington you are an absolute Queen. Thank you for having us... SUCH FUN."
Enduring friendships
Patricia portrayed Miranda's formidable mother, Penny, in the popular sitcom.
Miranda played the titular character, an awkward and accident-prone woman attempting to navigate friendship, family, romance and the everyday embarrassments of adult life. The series was known for its slapstick humour and frequent breaking of the fourth wall, where the leading actress would address the audience directly.
Sally, 56, played Tilly, who was Miranda's glamorous and wealthy friend in the show.
The situational comedy first aired on the BBC in 2009 and ran for three series before coming to an end in 2015. The programme became a major success and established its creator as a household name across the United Kingdom, concluding with a pair of highly anticipated finale specials.
Although it has been years since the original series finished broadcasting, the cast members have remained friends while continuing their respective television and film careers.
Recent projects
Sarah recently swapped the comedy television set for the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, taking part in the BBC celebrity dancing competition.
She successfully reached the final of the live entertainment programme alongside her professional dancing partner Vito Coppola. The flagship television show pairs celebrities with professional dancers to compete in weekly live broadcast routines across a variety of Latin and ballroom disciplines.
Sally, meanwhile, recently reprised her familiar role as Shazzer in the film Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy last year. The popular romantic comedy film franchise is based on the bestselling novels written by Helen Fielding.
Television comeback
Following her mainstream success for the 2009 BBC show Miranda, the creator and star has remained largely out of the public spotlight in more recent years.
Her television appearances have been limited to guest spots on chat shows and the charity telethon Comic Relief, which raises money for vulnerable people in the United Kingdom and internationally.
However, Miranda is now set to appear on Celebrity Traitors in what will be her television comeback. The psychological reality television competition series is scheduled to air on October 1.
"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 of taking part in the upcoming broadcast.
The game show format involves a group of famous contestants working together to complete physical missions, while a secret group of designated traitors attempts to eliminate their fellow players one by one without being detected.
Health struggles
It took medical professionals 33 years to discover that Miranda had been battling the bacterial infection Lyme disease. The illness is typically spread to humans through the bites of infected ticks.
She was initially mislabelled as being agoraphobic, which is an anxiety disorder characterised by symptoms of anxiety in unfamiliar situations or public places where escape might be difficult.
The comedian was also diagnosed with ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The condition is a long-term illness that causes debilitating fatigue which is not improved by rest.
The complex condition can severely affect a person's ability to carry out everyday activities, and patients often have to carefully manage their energy levels to avoid worsening their symptoms.
