Miranda Hart has revealed that her 'biggest regret' was going to university.

The actress and comedian, 53, said she 'hated' the experience, telling teenagers at an education conference last week: 'My absolute biggest regret is: "Why did I say that I would go to university to study political science?" It was just the done thing and I felt the pressure of it.'

Ms Hart added: 'I think you have to really sit down and listen to your heart and go: "Is this bringing me joy? Is the idea of this path really exciting to me? 

'Or, actually, if I'm really honest, is there a parent or a teacher or a cultural expectation that's telling me I need to get these grades?'

The 53-year-old initially studied for three A-levels - politics, geography and biology - before dropping out of the latter because 'I couldn't be bothered to go on a field trip to the Isle of Wight'.

Ms Hart also revealed that she became ill while at university, with 'various viruses and issues to do with ME [myalgic encephalomyelitis] as she 'was not thriving at that point'.

She described herself as 'academically distinctly average at best with precisely no interest at the time in any of the subjects on the curriculum', adding that it wasn't until the age of 26 that she admitted she wanted to be an actress.

This autumn, Ms Hart, who is best known for her hit BBC comedy Miranda, will star in season two of The Celebrity Traitors alongside Bella Ramsay, Maya Jama, Richard E. Grant, Ross Kemp and other famous faces.    

Ms Hart's comments about her university days, as reported by The Times, come after a damning new report this month warned that half of all graduates are earning less than the median national wage five years after leaving higher education.

The findings mean that more than 150,000 graduates a year struggled to even reach the median full-time worker's salary of £35,000 in the UK.

Even more worryingly, 11 per cent of graduates landed a job that failed to earn them just £24,000 over the same period, according to the analysis by the Policy Exchange think tank.

In addition, it found only 57 per cent of graduates are in full-time work 15 months after leaving university.

It is the latest evidence of a 'collapse' in the so-called university premium - the additional lifetime income graduates earn compared to non-graduates.

Critics claim it is now time to stop 'luring' young people into 'debt-trap degrees', with the typical student amassing debts of £50,000 a year to study.