Adele in tears after teacher surprised her on stage at London Palladium

Adele broke down in tears after being surprised on stage by her favourite school teacher, who she hadn't seen for over 20 years.

The Easy On Me singer returned to her hometown to perform at the London Palladium for An Audience With Adele on ITV, in front of a star-studded audience including Alan Carr, Gareth Southgate, Daniel Kaluuya, Olly Alexander and Hannah Waddingham.

Adele, 33, was asked by Dame Emma Thompson if she had anybody who encouraged her when she was growing up.

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The Tottenham-born singer - who was educated at Chestnut Grove Academy in south London - revealed: "I had a teacher at Chestnut Grove, that was Miss McDonald. She left when I was in Year 8. She got me into English literature, but she also did Street Dance. She was just so bloody cool, so engaging, and she really made us care."

It was then revealed that Miss McDonald was in the audience, and as she came on stage Adele burst into tears and hugged her.

The Rolling In The Deep singer told her: "I didn't know that you were coming! How are you? You look just the same. Thank you. Mum, can you believe it?!

"Oh my God! How are you? I haven't seen you since I was 12. Have you got kids? Can I get your number? I've got to get my make up fixed."

Adele then asked old friend Alan Carr: "Alan do you want to come and talk for five minutes while I fix my face. For real!"

The stand-up comic then led the audience in a sing-a-long while the singer had her make-up retouched.

Adele also confessed she was performing barefoot, in just her tights, admitting: "I don’t like singing in high heels."

The Skyfall singer was asked by Ted Lasso star Waddingham who her idols were and confessed she didn't count Beyonce among them.

She said: "I love a bit of Beyonce but I can't compare myself to her. It's like night and day."

"Beyonce's one of my favourites, she's not one of my idols. Don’t come for me!

"I would say Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion."

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The singer has just released her fourth studio album 30, which secured 60.7 million streams globally on the first day it was available, making it one of the biggest debuts in the history of the service.

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