Hannah Waddingham, a Ted Lasso star and national treasure, is apparently in ‘final stages of discussions’ to appear on Strictly Come Dancing this year.
The 49-year-old actress is claimed to have been approached by BBC executives about appearing in the 2024 series of the dancing competition.
And, as a close friend of Strictly judge Anton du Beke and his wife Hannah, she has heard positive things about the programme.
‘She loves the show – she has heard so much about it from Anton and Hannah, as she is a close friend to both – and is keen to do it,’ a source claimed.
They added to the Daily Mirror: ‘It’s just a question of whether or not it’s possible to fit it into her schedule – obviously it’s a very big commitment, and she is incredibly in demand at the moment.’
The actress is well-known for her parts in Sex Education, Game of Thrones, and Ted Lasso.
She received multiple honours for her role as AFC Richmond’s Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV Plus series, including an Emmy and a Critics’ Choice Award.
As her popularity grew, Hannah co-hosted The Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 and presented her own ITV special, Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas, the same year.
Hannah may be well-known for her glamour, having also performed at the Royal Variety Performance in 2023, but this hasn’t always been true.
She recently exposed the toll of her Game of Thrones role as the wicked nun Septa Unella.
In scenes from the HBO drama, the evil Cersei Lannister (played by Lena Headey) turns on her tormentor, resulting in her horrible torture and death.
Hannah said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the United States that these images caused her to develop severe claustrophobia.
‘Cause I had 10 hours… I mean, I’ve talked about it since with David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two exec producers on it. I was like, good job it’s for them, because it was horrific.hours of being actually waterboarded. Like, actually waterboarded.
‘So I’m strapped to a table with all these leather straps and I couldn’t lift up my head because they said that’s going to be too obvious that it’s loose. I was like, ‘right, I’d quite like it to be loose,’ she continued.
She revealed to Stephen: ‘My hair’s already bleached to death. I had grape juice all in my hair so it went purple. I couldn’t speak because the Mountain had his hand over my mouth while I was screaming, and I had strap marks everywhere like I’d been attacked.’
For shame, Game of Thrones.
Hopefully, Hannah’s mooted Strictly journey will be altogether less cursed.
Source My Celebrity Life.