Alone this Valentine's? Miranda Hart is here for you

If you're sick of the sight of teddy bears and boxes of chocolates on supermarket shelves for Valentine's Day - Miranda Hart is here for you.

"I shall be on Twitter all day to chat to anyone feeling lonely," the comedian posted on Tuesday night.

The Call The Midwife star encouraged her followers to tweet using the hashtag #HartsValentineDay.

Her followers applauded her efforts and began requesting advice and sharing their own Valentine's experiences.

"I don't know the full history of St Valentine but I do know it was a feast day to celebrate love and affection, not a commercial day to make anyone feel lesser, isolated or alone," Miranda said.

Miranda began tweeting fans back at noon, writing: "First - big shout out and love to single people out there, especially single people who don't want to be single. You are loved for just being you."

She also tweeted a picture of herself with her dog Peggy, who she described as her "greatest love".

Several tweets to Miranda have been from followers who have been finding this year's Valentine's particularly difficult.

One woman said she'd found out her husband had been cheating on her last month, to which Miranda replied: "So sorry for you, that's really tough. This is the worst bit, you will move through. Hang on in there."

She also said she'd received several tweets from women who felt there was something wrong with them because they were single.

But she rubbished those suggestions, adding: "It can often feel counter cultural and selfish to focus on oneself but until you love yourself then you can't really go out and be the full energetic giving and loving you. Someone said 'you are the greatest love of your life'."

Miranda also joked that it was "vital" her followers buy themselves Valentine's Day cards and encouraged her followers to get in touch with others who were feeling isolated.

Later on Wednesday, she tweeted: "It really is amazing how much the subject of Valentines Day has brought up emotionally. And it seems it still all boils down to being kind to and loving ourselves and our situations so we don't focus on lack."

Miranda's idea follows in the footsteps of comedian Sarah Millican's recent Twitter campaign to connect people who were spending Christmas Day alone.

"The main rule is to be kind," said Millican. "We're all here for each other."