Hannah Waddingham's friends faced an unusual invitation last May when they were asked to attend a live taping of her Christmas special at the London Coliseum.
She recalled that it was uncommonly sweaty in London and further added, "And there was us putting out an invitation saying, ‘Please wear your Christmas finery.’ So many of my friends rang me and were like, ‘Dude, really?’ I was like, ‘Yes, get your Christmas sweater out. If I’m going to be sweating, so can you.'"
The special, titled "Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas," debuted recently, accompanied by a soundtrack. For Hannah, an Emmy Award-winner and three-time Olivier Award nominee, the Coliseum holds special significance as her mother, Melodie Kelly, was an opera singer, and Waddingham spent much of her childhood there, reported news agency Reuters.
She reflected on her deep connection to the Coliseum, emphasizing how her formative years as a performer were shaped by watching opera singers in the theater. She also shared a personal note about her mother, who is battling Parkinson's disease and attended the taping in a wheelchair, along with her father, who had undergone quintuple heart surgery during the filming of 'Ted Lasso'.
Hannah is joined by other special guests, including Leslie Odom Jr., Luke Evans (“He and I have known each other for 20 years from theater,” she said), and Sam Ryder.
“We put the blanket offer out to them, and said, ‘Hannah wants as many of you as will be there.’ They were all clamoring to be involved. And let me tell you, they are big, fat Christmas hams.”
The special caps off an eventful year for Waddingham. Besides “Ted Lasso” airing its third season and taping “Home for Christmas,” she hosted the Olivier Awards and also co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and the Earthshot Prize in Singapore alongside Prince William and actor Sterling K. Brown.
“2024 is really going to have to go some way because 2023 has been insane,” she said.
