Grammy-award-winning artist Adele had an emotional moment during her ITV concert special, An Audience with Adele, at the London Palladium on November 21 when she was surprised with the appearance of her school teacher.
During the concert, which was pre-recorded, the “When We Were Young” artist answered a question coming from actress Emma Thompson. The actress asked Adele if there was anyone who supported her in the past and had inspired her to stay strong amid adversity.
Adele then responded by telling the audience about her English teacher at Chestnut Grove Academy, Ms. McDonald.
The British singer said, “I had a teacher at (south London high school) Chestnut Grove, who taught me English. That was Miss McDonald… She got me really into English literature. Like, I’ve always been obsessed with English, and obviously, now I write lyrics.”
“She was so bloody cool. So engaging,” Adele added, recounting that McDonald would wear sequin outfits and gold jewelry and would have students join her in street dances with her during lessons. “She really made us care, and we knew that she cared about us.”
Thompson then told Adele that her inspirational teacher, which Adele hadn’t connected in 20 years, was sitting in the audience.
In a clip shared by ITV to Twitter, Adele is seen in a warm embrace with her former mentor, who was brought on stage.
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We all have that one teacher who changed our life… such a beautiful reunion!
*PS, would totally buy Alan Carr’s version of ‘Make You Feel My Love* ?@Adele #AnAudienceWithAdele https://t.co/2ZZI2RS0mI pic.twitter.com/hlTOOZKt5j
— ITV (@ITV) November 21, 2021
“You’re amazing darling, I’m so proud of you,” McDonald said as the singer held her with tears of joy streaming down her face.
McDonald smiled at Adele while expressing gratitude after the singer still remembered her. While still clinging onto McDonald, Adele said, “You really did change my life.”
“Now, I’ve got to get my whole face re-done,” she joked.
After the special, Adele took to Twitter and shared her sentiments about the reunion with McDonald.
Home Sweet Home. I’ve always dreamt of doing An Audience With… There was so much love in the room for eachother, it felt like such a gig! Everyone was raucous and bang up for it! And my teacher Ms McDonald was there, it was just heaven ♥️ pic.twitter.com/N1LpkQbeoh
— Adele (@Adele) November 21, 2021
“Home Sweet Home. I’ve always dreamt of doing An Audience With…” she wrote as a caption to photos from the concert, adding: “There was so much love in the room for each other, it felt like such a gig! Everyone was raucous and bang up for it! And my teacher Ms. McDonald was there. It was just heaven.”
