Find me a man: Miranda Hart is ready for love

Miranda Hart, whose on-screen comic persona is a hopeless singleton, has described her own difficulty in finding a man.

The star of hit BBC sitcom Miranda, single for almost four years, admits she is ready for a relationship.

She said: "Until now, I wasn't that interested. I sort of felt I didn't really need it and I was so focused on work and had lots of friends and was never really lonely. I've been on a few dates this year. I've been set up with people. It's always fairly awkward."

Hart, 38, who is 6ft 1in tall, won the hearts of four million regular viewers as a self-deprecating perennial singleton in her BBC2 show.

Describing her ideal date, she told ES magazine: "I love walking along the South Bank at night. I think I prefer sights to a restaurant. And there's the advantage that if it's not going well, you can always hail a taxi. I do like the idea of marriage. It's romantic. I like the idea of saying, 'This is my husband...'"

But the star would not want a traditional wedding. "Someone would be bound to fall in the font. I'm not particularly into the formal, political side of faith, although I am spiritual and I do have a faith. But Strictly Come Dancing is my religion."

Describing her perfect man, she said: "Goran Ivanisevic. I always used to think he was rather smashing. I'd like someone tall, dark and... nice. Independent and confident. Not a macho man. Perhaps a bit girly in a way. The key for me is if we can cry with laughter. And Miss Peggy [her shih-tzu dog] would have to approve."

The full interview can be read in tomorrow's ES Magazine