Loved-up national treasure Hannah Waddingham says female footballers need to be taken seriously as she prepares to return to smash hit football comedy Ted Lasso20:16, 31 Jul 2026If her hit show Ted Lasso encourages more women to pursue careers in football, Hannah Waddingham will be delighted - but the work must start in schools.‌“I never played football in school. I know Mary Earps, Leah Williamson and Jill Scott - they all had to struggle to be taken seriously”, she says. “That’s where it needs to start. If this encourages girls to get on the pitch, or the court, then my God - that’s what we want.”‌The London-born actress is returning to her role as fearsome AFC Richmond boss Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso, the Apple TV+ show that catapulted her to global stardom - and earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.‌It’s testament that the mother-of-one - who recently described her overnight fame after 25 years in showbusiness as “delicious” - finally getting. all the recognition she deserves.The football-based comedy-drama might have introduced her to a whole new audience, but it wasn’t her first significant role. Long before the feel-good series became a hit, Waddingham was building up an impressive CV, on both stage and screen.‌The 5ft 11in acting powerhouse made guest appearances in TV staples such as Doctors, Hollyoaks and Benidorm, followed by memorable turns in global hits Sex Education and Game Of Thrones.She is also a highly respected West End star and was well known to musical theatre fans thanks to her Olivier-nominated roles in shows such as Spamalot, A Little Night Music and Kiss Me, Kate.But it was Ted Lasso, which returns to our screens on 5 August, that really put Waddington, 51, on the map.‌The star is loving every second of her mid-life fame. “It really does feel more special,” she has said. “I’m glad that it didn’t happen when I was 20, 25, 30, because I know who I am. I don’t apologise for who I am.”‌That self-belief is one of the reasons Waddingham is so popular with fans. Much like Ted Lasso’s tough-talking Rebecca, the actress doesn’t suffer fools and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself — as was the case when, ahead of hosting the Olivier Awards in 2024, she called out a photographer who asked her to “show leg” as she arrived on the red carpet.Berating the paparazzo in question, she said, “Oh my God, you’d never say that to a man, my friend. Don’t be a d**k, otherwise I’ll move off.”The incident quickly went viral and while Hannah revealed the photographer later emailed her to apologise, she said the furore cast a shadow over what should have been one of the proudest moments of her career.‌“I was going off to host an entire evening live and my sadness at the time was that [the evening] had been reduced to that, instead of my live performance directly after that, which is one of the greatest achievements of my life,” she said.Hannah has spoken of the importance of “calling out moments that need to be shut down” and that determination to stand up for herself — and others — is directly connected to the other big role in her life, that of being a mother.The star, who has 11-year-old daughter Kitty with her former partner, Italian hotelier Gianluca Cugnetto, said recently, “We, as the females in society, us older ones, we need to encourage the younger ones, to make sure that we are respected, because it’s too easy for us to just take it on the chin.”‌For years, motherhood came first for the actress, but although Hannah put her theatre work on the backburner after Kitty was born, she says that she feels torn “all the time” when it comes to juggling acting with parenting.“I’m about to go away to do press for the next season of Ted Lasso and the mummy guilt descends,” she said last month. “But I have to try and combat it.”‌Unsurprisingly, work and family commitments haven’t left Hannah much time for romance, but while she swore off relationships when her daughter was younger, she recently dipped her toes back into the world of dating.“It’s taken me eight years [to date again],” she said recently. “I didn’t really have the space mentally or emotionally for that. I’ve hunkered down and focused on my girl and me. [But] now I’m ready to stick my head above the parapet a bit more.”That decision has paid off and Hannah is now dating spine surgeon Nick Beresford-Cleary, who joined her at the London screening of her new Prime Video action comedy, Ride Or Die, in June.‌Touching on her new romance, Waddingham has described the relationship as “really, really lovely”, adding, “But the best thing about it is, firstly, being happy and strong in myself.”The star is also in the midst of a career purple patch. Last year she starred in Netflix’s psychological drama The Woman In Cabin 10, Hollywood blockbuster Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning and the live-action version of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, which grossed $1 billion worldwide.‌And last month, she headed to New York for the premiere of Ride Or Die, in which she plays an international assassin opposite Oscar winner Octavia Spencer.Next year, she will be heard voicing a character in hotly anticipated 3D animation High In The Clouds, starring alongside some of the biggest names from the worlds of film, TV and music, including Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Idris Elba and Lionel Richie.But back to the show that brought Hannah global fame, the upbeat series starring Jason Sudeikis as unlikely football coach Ted Lasso.‌This time, it focuses on the challenges of coaching a second division women’s team - and it sounds like Hannah couldn’t have been more thrilled to be stepping back into Rebecca’s spiky heels once again.Talking about the three-year gap between seasons three and four, she says, “We’re all so close that I never really missed anyone, but it made me realise the only person I didn’t get to be with any more was Rebecca."There’s something very strange about missing a character that only exists when you’re embodying them!”Article continues belowLike this story? 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