What “wasn’t great” about the Christmas episode

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by Stephanie Weber

Hannah Waddingham begins the holiday. The “Ted Lasso” alumna returns to her musical roots with a newly released special on Apple TV+ called “Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas.”

The Emmy winner, 49, taped the episode live at The Coliseum in London, inviting some of her former co-stars and others — Phil Dunster, Nick Muhammad, Luke Evans, Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ryder — as her special guests. .

Additional performances also include The Fabulous Lounge Swingers, the English National Opera Chorus, the London Gay Men’s Chorus, and an 18-piece band. Dunster, 31, who played Jimmy Tartt opposite Waddingham’s Rebecca Wilton in “Ted Lasso,” even joined in a rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”

The Game of Thrones alumna is no stranger to showing off her singing on the small screen. She sang several times during her appearance on the show “Ted Lasso,” which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023.

A highlight for viewers is the show’s second season episode, “Carol of the Bells,” in which Waddingham brings in Ted (Sudeikis) to give the kids toys for the holidays and they end up singing in the street as she sings “Christmas (Baby Please Come)” Home )” with AFC Richmond.

“I love this song. I was the one who suggested it. So I was grateful that Jason Sudeikis was like, ‘If you’re happy with this guy.'” “I was like, ‘I think it’s a great song,'” Waddingham told The Post.

“The thing that wasn’t so great about that day was that it wasn’t warm and I was like, ‘Oh, we’re actually doing this live.'” She continued, “I’m not going to go into the studio afterwards and re-record it and make it sound pretty.” “They were like ,” no “. You are fine. You’ve been singing live your whole life. I said: Oh my God, why did you tell them that?

With Waddingham’s experience in theater work (“Into the Woods,” “Spamalot,” and others), it wasn’t easy for the 48-year-old “Saturday Night Live” alumna to sing on the series.

“The singing in ‘Ted Lasso’ is 100 percent credit to Mr. Sudeikis. Although I will say that he, Brendan Hunt, and Brett Goldstein, they’re all obsessed with musical theatre, a lot more than I am.” “So they would come up with songs and I would say to them: Guys, I don’t know the right words for this.” And they were looking at me in awe and clutching their pearls because they love musical theater. Jason grew up going to theater in Kansas with his mother.

One season ago, the English actress also sang a karaoke version of Frozen’s “Let It Go” during a night out at the soccer club.

“I remember Jason saying to me, ‘So you’re going to sing this.’ And I was like, “Right.” Can I ask why the football club owner sings? He said, “Yes, we’re not having that conversation.” You just sing. I said, “Okay.” I remembered that this was not a topic of discussion. “And then when I said the next season, I said to myself, ‘But I’m not singing this season.’ Joe Kelly, one of the main writers, was like, ‘No, you’re singing twice.’ And I laughed and he said, ‘No, you’re singing twice.

“Ted Lasso” ended its run with “So Long, Farewell” on May 31, but fans are still hoping for a fourth season — and so is Waddingham.

“There’s the opportunity and incentive for many of the characters to branch out in their own direction. And I think the characters are so likable that it would be plausible for them to do that,” she previously told Deadline, adding that there were “no plans” for her character to get another show.

“I miss her terribly,” she told The Post. “Rebecca’s heart is the thing I miss every day. I miss that girl like an old friend I don’t see anymore.

Although there are no solid spin-off plans on the horizon, fans can watch Waddingham reunite with some of her former cast mates in her new special. Juno Temple, Goldstein, 43, and Sudeikis also appear at various points.

Other songs Waddingham will perform include “What Christmas Means To Me”, “Man With The Bag”, “Please Come Home For Christmas” (with Odom Jr.), “O’ Holy Night” (with English National Opera), and “Run”. “Rudolph Run” (featuring Ryder), “Winter Wonderland” (featuring Evans) and
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (featuring the London Gay Choir).

“Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas” is now streaming globally on Apple TV+.