Hannah Waddingham says her sex appeal is a ‘happy accident’: 'My body has always been my tool'

Hannah Waddingham is bringing sexy back, but she apparently had no clue.

In an interview with InStyle, the Ted Lasso actress, 48, responded to claims that she is a "sex symbol" with equal parts humility and genuine confusion.

"You think I'm — I'm sorry, did you just say you think I'm a sex symbol?!" said the actress. "Are you really putting me in that camp? OK, yes, I guess I'll take it ... But I've never thought of myself as any of the nice things you've said, because my body has always been my tool!"

The Emmy-award winner plays the Mother Witch in Hocus Pocus 2 and has starred as various other enchantresses in the past, such as the witch in Into the Woods and the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She accredits the demanding nature of her more theatrical roles for her current physique that has launched her into the sex appeal stratosphere.

"I've just had to keep it up because musical theater is so grueling, you know?" she said of her physique. "So if you think I'm sexy, honestly, that's just a happy accident."

Her impeccable wardrobe stylings have also aided her accent to "bombshell" status, but she is not shy in admitting that there is a good amount of shapewear involved in her head-turning looks.

"Obviously I like to wear beautiful things, but first of all, there's a lot of Spanx — like hard-to-breathe Spanx — and second of all, I like [body-con] stuff because I have to wear those looks for quite a while, and with Hervé [Léger], there isn't any boning! So, it's much more comfortable! ... I tell my stylist [James Yardley], 'If it hasn't got any bits and pieces in it, I'm great.' I want to be able to get dressed easily. To me, that's luxury."

All of that acknowledged, however, Waddingham is steadfast in her claims that she is not a sex symbol and insist she may even be quite the opposite.

"I truly don't think I'm a sex symbol," she said. "Actually, I think I'm a bit of a dick."

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