Hannah Waddingham Breaks Down Her Christmas Special Cameos
Hannah Waddingham
Christmas came early for Ted Lasso fans, thanks to Hannah Waddingham.
The Emmy winner's new holiday special, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, brought together members of AFC Richmond, including some surprise guests. (Spoilers ahead!)
"I just love it. And I love the fact that people are seeing the reason why [Jason] Sudeikis was like, 'We're having you singing on the show,'" Waddingham laughed in an exclusive interview with Parade. "It's so lovely, and the fact that so many of AFC Richmond are on that stage with me."
While she was joined on stage at the London Coliseum by several of her Lasso co-stars, including Nick Mohammed, Brendan Hunt and Phil Dunster, Waddingham had three special roles reserved off stage for Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein and Jason Sudeikis.
"I wrote each of those scenes with each of those people," she shared, noting that they are "really very important people to me in various different ways."
When it came to Temple's cameo, the pair wanted to "lean into the fact" that the Keeley Jones actress "is the greatest gift giver on the planet." "Her gift wrapping is almost as good as the actual gift. So it had to be about that," Waddingham revealed. "And then Brett was just like, 'Well, why don't we get in a hot tub?' And I was like, 'Why don't we get in a hot tub and I'll have my dress still on,' which my stylist James Yardley was like, 'Wait, you're gonna do what now?' So it was just really, really magical."
As for Sudeikis’s appearance, she and Ted Lasso himself wanted to round out the special. "People don't think he's there, and then right at the last minute, it's a little boop because he's the man that has raised my profile to do this," Waddingham said. "So, it's a love letter to him as well."
Continue reading to find out what Hannah Waddingham had to say about her holiday special, which premiered Nov. 22 on Apple TV+, plus whether her daughter, Kitty, plans on following in her family's musical footsteps and why Prince William is a "cut above the rest."
Were your footballing boys, as you called them, all eager to participate and dance on stage?
Oh my god. I had to kind of beat them off with a Christmas stick, to go 'no, no, no, get off the stage.' They loved it. They're all such giant Christmas hams. I mean, you can see from how they all perform, they're like [strikes a pose smiling]. They love it.
Am I the last person to know that Phil Dunster can sing? I had no idea!
Yeah, well, when they cast Ted Lasso, I think they were going for multitalented people left, right and center. His tone of voice is beautiful.
Related: Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham's "Shallow" Duet Delights Ted Lasso Fans
Yeah, I was blown away by his vocals. This made me wonder just how much singing and dancing actually happened on the set of Lasso.
Do you know what? Not actually that much. We were all very focused on the job in hand. But when we went to karaoke, that is a different matter. That used to go on for hours.
Did you want to give Juno [Temple], Brett [Goldstein] and Jason [Sudeikis] those special roles that we saw in the special?
Yeah, I did, because they are really very important people to me in various different ways. I wrote each of those scenes with each of those people, which was so lovely to be afforded the luxury...Apple [was] just like, "No, you guys do you," which is incredible, really.
So, Juno and I very much wanted to lean into the fact that she is the greatest gift giver on the planet. Her gift wrapping is almost as good as the actual gift. So it had to be about that. And then Brett was just like, "Well, why don't we get in a hot tub?" And I was like, "Why don't we get in a hot tub and I'll have my dress still on," which my stylist James Yardley was like, "Wait, you're gonna do what now?" It was just really, really magical. And then Jason and I wanted a thing that was like, rounding out the whole thing. People don't think he's there, and then right at the last minute, it's a little boop because he's the man that has raised my profile to do this. So, it's a love letter to him as well.
Apple TV+
And how did you go about picking the other performers who appeared in the special, like Luke Evans, Sam Ryder, Leslie Odom Jr.?
They were all very much chosen because I really dig them as artists, and also Luke and I have known each other, we met in theater 20 years ago, which people won't realize, so that was important for me. Sam Ryder, I've been a massive fan of since I saw him at Eurovision last year, and I just think he's an outstanding artist and I wanted to have that different energy. Having come out of "O Holy Night" singing to my mum and my daughter and the more classical side, I wanted something that would blow the roof off and what better man to do that with?
And then Leslie Odom Jr. I chose and I told him in no uncertain terms, when I said to my daughter, "You choose someone, who do I have?" Literally, I hadn't finished my sentence and she shouted, "Leslie Odom Jr." Because of Hamilton. She just loves him. And I loved him vocally, outside Hamilton, and just thought our voices would work brilliantly together.
Related: Leslie Odom Jr. Knows the Importance of Having Conviction: 'Too Many People Feign It'
And they did. You mentioned in this special that this was a dream that you never imagined would come true. Now that it's come true, what are you dreaming about these days?
Well, I just hope that everyone loves it in the way I do. It's been so carefully and belovedly curated. And I just want it to be a thing where people can hunker down with their families of all ages, and forget where they are for a second. I wanted it to be timeless.
Are there plans to make this an annual special?
Well, you wouldn't have to twist my arm very much at all to do that. I keep thinking this is your starter portion, your Christmas starter portion.
Did doing this special make you want to return to the West End? Do you have plans to?
Yes and no. I'm not ready yet. I've always said that while my daughter is young, and I'm a single mom, it's important for me to be with her as much as I can. So other than these fits and starts of me being away, I want to be at home with her at night and this career of mine has afforded me the luxury of doing that. So, I will go back when the time is right and when it's something that I cannot leave alone.
Speaking of your daughter, you mentioned in the special that your mother was part of the English National Opera Chorus for 30 years and, of course, you're a performer. Has your daughter expressed any interest in following in both of your musical footsteps?
Well, she says she doesn't, but then, you know, I'll be around at my parents' house and suddenly you'll hear this completely natural high operatic soprano note come out from upstairs. And she just has it in her bloodstream. I mean, I'd kind of like her not to have it because it's such a volatile business. Even though she says from one week to the next, she's gonna be a CEO, then she's gonna be a DJ, then she's gonna be an artist, then she's gonna be a policewoman. I mean, the force is strong with her. I'm not gonna lie. My mum was an opera singer. Both my mum's parents were opera singers, so, you know, it's filtered through. For sure.
Maybe one day a duet between the two of you on a special.
Oh, I wouldn't be able to sing. I'd be overcome with emotion.
You were recently in Singapore with the Prince of Wales [for the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony]. What was that experience like for you?
Absolutely thrilling. And what a glorious gentleman he is. I even said to him, myself and the equally fabulous Sterling K. Brown, we were hosting it together. And he and I said to Prince William, "Sir, I hope you realize that you are a cut above the rest," because he has created the Earthshot organization, and he isn't a poster boy for it. It was very obvious from being out there that he is the beating heart and he really does care. And that man is passionate about the environment...I was very proud to be there. He's quite an extraordinary man.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
