The comedian was a pupil at Downe House School in Berkshire, a prominent independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11–18.

She is one of the stars who has been selected for the new series of Celebrity Traitors, which was won last time by comedian Alan Carr.

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The school is located on a 110-acre campus in Cold Ash, near Thatcham, about 10 miles south of the Oxfordshire border.

The comedian was a boarder at the school from 1984 to 1991 and remembers her school days being “full of lacrosse, laughter and custard”.

In an interview with Country & Town House magazine she said: “Lacrosse was my primary passion.

“I absolutely loved it. All sport really, but lacrosse suited me really well. I was a sprinter so I could whip down the field cradling the ball higher than most.

“I didn’t admit I wanted to act until quite late in my life so just played one line parts here and there in plays – mainly playing men in various smelly suits.

“Oh, and another passion was playing piano duets – I was good at the piano but it was playing duets I loved.”

When it came to acting at school, the comedian recalled a spell as director for the school play in sixth form.

She added: “I was going to add to the above that I do remember being really passionate about directing the play I did in sixth form.

“It was Hay Fever by Noel Coward and I was really proud of how many laughs it got, and I will never forget what Mr Palmer, the French Teacher, said.

“He was always rather an intimidating figure, and I never had him as a teacher as he only taught the top divisions (somewhere you wouldn’t find me), but he took the time to write me a note and tell me that it was one of the best plays he had seen on at the school in all his years there. It was so encouraging because we all need champions to support our unique skills.”

Miranda was also a big fan of the school dinner desserts, adding: “I refer to the puddings.

“The apple crumbles with the six-foot high yummy crumble topping and the thick custard.”

Her only real regret about her school days was not doing a third A-level as it affected where she could go to university.

“That said, I never regret following my passions, and I also gave it up to focus on lacrosse (at the time I thought I might be a PE teacher),” she added.

Pupils at Downe House School (Image: Contributed)

The comedian has been back to the school “a couple of times”, one of them coinciding with the peak of her fame when the TV series Miranda was being shown.

She told the magazine: “I was very flattered, but not expecting girls to be hanging out of their classrooms and screaming at me as I walked past. My moment of feeling like a pop star!”

Founded in 1907, Downe House School provides a ‘rigorous’ academic curriculum (GCSE/A-Level) alongside extensive extracurricular opportunities, including elite sports, arts, and a strong boarding community with dedicated day houses.

Miranda Hart will join celebrities including singer/songwriter James Blunt, Love Island host Maya Jama and actor Richard E Grant in the second series of the celebrity version of the hit BBC show, The Traitors.

The comedian shared a fan’s request on her Instagram story which asked her to “gallop throughout the castle”, referencing a move she’d often do on her BBC sitcom Miranda.

In 2013, the comedian and actress visited Oxford to host a dog show in South Park as part of a Red Nose Day challenge.

A transmission date for the second series of Celebrity Traitors has not yet been revealed.

Celebrity Traitors series 2 full line-up

These celebrities will be taking part in the new series of Celebrity Traitors:

Amol Rajan – Journalist and Broadcaster

Bella Ramsey – Actor

James Acaster – Comedian and Podcaster

James Blunt – Singer/Songwriter

Jerry Hall – Model and Actress

Joanne McNally – Comedian

Joe Lycett – Comedian

Julie Hesmondhalgh – Actor

King Kenny – Content Creator

Leigh-Anne Pinnock – Singer/Songwriter

Maya Jama – Broadcaster and Entrepreneur

Michael Sheen – Actor and Presenter

Miranda Hart – Actor and Author

Myha’la – Actor

Professor Hannah Fry– Broadcaster and Mathematician

Richard E. Grant – Actor and Author

Rob Beckett – Comedian

Romesh Ranganathan – Comedian

Ross Kemp – Actor and Presenter

Sebastian Croft – Musician and Actor

Sharon Rooney – Actor

Premier Inn owner Whitbread is to cut about 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland and shut its remaining Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants as it resets its five-year business strategy, amid tax rises.

In recent years, Whitbread has invested heavily in new Premier Inn hotels across Oxfordshire.

While some Premier Inn hotels in the county now have restaurants converted to the chain’s in-house Thyme brand, a few old-fashioned Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants remain.

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They include the Longwall Beefeater in Cowley, Bicester Premier Inn (Brewers Fayre), the Beefeater restaurant at Oxford Kidlington (Airport) Hotel, and the Applecart Beefeater at the Premier Inn for Didcot.

With the cuts set to affect about 12 per cent of Whitbread’s 30,000-strong workforce in the UK and Ireland working in its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants, this newspaper approached Whitbread to see if the Oxfordshire sites would be affected.

Because the proposal is still under consultation, there was no further local information available specific to the county, revealed a spokesperson.

The spokesperson added: “We appreciate it must be unsettling for those who may be impacted.”

READ MORE: ‘Heartbreak’ as Oxfordshire playground facing axe after 50 years

A statement last week said: “Whitbread has announced today (April 30) that, as part of its proposed new Five-Year Plan, it intends to become a pure-play hotel business focused on Premier Inn, the UK’s number one hotel brand, which is synonymous with quality and value.

“This change will involve exiting all of our remaining branded restaurants, which trade under brands including Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, a number of which will be converted into approximately 600 additional Premier Inn rooms, with the remainder expected to be sold as going concerns.

“The proposed changes announced today build on the success of our Accelerating Growth Plan, announced in 2024, which involved the conversion of over 200 branded restaurants to additional rooms, and the creation of an integrated restaurant in each hotel.

READ MORE: Riverside pub back from the dead years after closing

“This format has proved highly popular with guests and under the proposal, it would be rolled out to all hotels where there is currently a branded restaurant.

“We recognise the impact of this proposal on colleagues who work at the affected sites.

“As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible.

“However, we do anticipate that the proposed changes, which are subject to consultation, would result in a reduction of around 3,800 roles of a total UK and Ireland workforce of around 30,000.

“We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected.”

Karl Wissinger, 64, of West Street, Chipping Norton, was caught exceeding the 50mph limit while driving a Peugeot Boxer on the M20 between junctions 5 and 3 in Aylesford, Kent, on March 3 last year.

The offence took place during a period when a temporary restriction was in place on the M20 motorway between junctions three and five. 

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Wissinger pleaded guilty on April 23 this year at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £100, ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs, and given a £40 surcharge.

His driving record was also endorsed with five penalty points.

Wissinger has been ordered to pay the total amount by June 18 this year.