Biography

Raised over £1 million for Sports Relief in 2010 by cycling the length of Britain (John O'Groats in Scotland to Lands End in England) along with David Walliams, Jimmy Carr, Fearne Cotton, Patrick Kielty, Davina McCall and Russell Howard.

Once had severe agoraphobia.

As a guest on The Graham Norton Show (2007) (2010), the comedienne revealed that, because of her loftiness, she is occasionally addressed as "Sir" or "Mr".

She is a fourth cousin, twice removed, of Princess Diana. Miranda's five times maternal great-grandparents, George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer and Lady Lavinia Bingham, were also Diana's three times paternal great-grandparents.

Can trace her family tree back to the 12th century, and descends from Earls, Barons, Marquesses, and Dukes, as well as from many prominent military figures. Her grandfather was Admiral Sir David Luce, her great-grandfather was Vice Admiral Trevylyan Napier, and her great-great-grandfather was Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet, who was the Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1920. Miranda's ancestry includes English, as well as small amounts of Scottish, German, Irish, and Dutch.

It's a vicious circle. If you feel hideous, you convey it to people. A couple of male friends from university have said, 'I quite fancied you, but I wouldn't have dared...' and I was like, oh really? I was completely amazed that anyone had ever fancied me, and also that I'd obviously given an impression of 'Don't touch me'.

[on Miranda (2009)] We rehearse for three days and there isn't much room for mucking about, but usually someone gets the giggles at something off the cuff - worryingly often nothing to do with the scripts.

The studio floor is where the hard work pays off. You're in studios where your comedy heroes performed and you're making your own show.

When I wrote the show, I didn't have anyone in mind to play the parts - apart from the naturally beautiful actress who plays Miranda, of course. But wow, I couldn't have got luckier. We've genuinely become the best of friends. I even holiday with Sarah (Sarah Hadland). We all share a love of the silly, of Strictly Come Dancing (2004), of dogs, of food, and all believe that breaking wind is never not funny.

The live audiences are so supportive - when I hear the first laugh, it's a huge high. There's nothing more rewarding than a laugh you've created.