Take it easy on Adele, she’s having a moment. The normally unflappable singer got verklempt during the taping of her ITV An Audience With Adele special at London’s Palladium earlier this month when actress Emma Thompson asked if she could remember anyone from her past who supported, inspired or protected her as a child.
As it turns out, it was a leading question. Adele said that person was her teacher at London’s Chestnut Grove Academy, Ms. McDonald, who left the school when she was in 8th grade. But not before she left a serious impression on Adele, getting her “really into” literature and arranging “street dance” performances in the cafeteria. “She was so bloody cool. So engaging. She really made us care and we knew that she cared about us,” Adele said, choking up a bit, noting that McDonald — who wore cool gold bracelets, too — was so “relatable and likeable that I really looked forward to my English lessons.”
McDonald was, of course, sitting in the audience of the special that aired on English television over the weekend and the surprise reunion led to some waterworks for the singer as McDonald stepped up to hug her and say, “I’m so proud of you.” Adele, shocked, cried tears of joy and said, “I didn’t know you were coming!” The singer marveled at how her teacher looked “exactly the same” after all these years, dabbing at her eyes as the two caught up on stage.
“Thank you for remembering me,” Ms. McDonald said. “Oh my God. No, you really, you really did change my life,” Adele told her, shouting out to ask her mum if she could believe the moment, then lamenting that she would need to have her makeup completely re-done because of the joyful tears. Because they hadn’t seen each other since Adele, now 33, was 12, the Grammy winner asked her former instructor what she was up to and gave a shout-out to McDonald’s son and daughter in the audience while asking for McDonald’s cell number.
“Home Sweet Home. I’ve always dreamt of doing An Audience With…,” Adele tweeted on Sunday (Nov. 21). “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.”
Check out Adele’s tweet about the reunion and footage below.
Adele was surprised by her English teacher and burst into tears. #AnAudienceWithAdele pic.twitter.com/cBbh6ewbjX
— Adele Daily (@adeledailymedia) November 21, 2021
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
