Adele shed tears of joy on Sunday night when she was reunited with her old English teacher at her concert special An Audience With Adele in London.
The 33-year-old singer put on a show at the London Palladium to a star-studded audience. It was broadcast by ITV in the UK on Sunday night and included a special surprise for the British performer.
In a clip from the show posted by ITV, actress Emma Thompson asks Adele about her childhood in between the singer's set list.
"Was there someone who supported you or inspired you or protected you from all the trials and tribulations of life?" Thompson asked.
"Yeah, I had a teacher at Chestnut Grove who taught me English," Adele responded. "That was Ms. McDonald."
"Did you ever keep in touch?" questioned Thompson coyly, seemingly aware of what was about to happen.
The singer said she hadn't seen her old teacher since she was in year 12, then praised her. "She was so bloody cool. So engaging. She really made us care and we knew that she cared about us."
"Yeah, cause it's odd, actually, funny enough..." Thompson said, trailing off.
Adele finally caught on and looked up to the audience in shock. "Is she here? Is Ms McDonald here?"
The crowd cheered and clapped as Adele's former English teacher emerged from the shadows and came up to join her on stage. Adele broke down in tears as the two hugged.
"Oh my God, I'm so proud of you," Miss McDonald told her. When Adele apologized for not expecting her, her old teacher hushed her and told her it was supposed to be a surprise. She then shared that she no longer teaches but focuses on raising her children, before thanking Adele for always remembering her.
"No, you really did change my life," Adele said. She then turned to the audience hilariously and said "Mum, can you believe it?"
As McDonald went to return to her seat, the singer made sure she'd get her phone number so they could talk more later. "I've still got my books you know! I've got all my books from when you were my teacher," she added.
Adele then had to make a brief trip off stage to get her makeup fixed. This didn't phase the natural entertainer, who called friend and comedian Alan Carr up to the stage.
Carr did a brief and hilarious rendition of 'Make You Feel My Love', which had the celebrity audience in stitches before Adele returned and the concert resumed.
The singer later tweeted about the evening, saying "Home Sweet Home. I've always dreamt of doing 'An Audience With...' There was so much love in the room for each other, it felt like such a gig!"
She also shouted out her old mentor: "And my teacher Ms McDonald was there, it was just heaven."
Adele's fourth studio album, 30, came out last Friday. While she was surprised at her show in London, last week it was Adele doing the surprising during a special concert filmed for CBS.
During the show - aired under the title 'Adele: One Night Only' - the singer helped a man propose to his girlfriend, then serenaded them with her his ballad 'Make You Feel My Love.'
