Who is Hannah Waddingham? Eurovision host's career from Benidorm to Game of Thrones

Following the first round of Eurovision semi-finals, many are asking who is Hannah Waddingham?

Best known for her role as Rebecca Welton in comedy series Ted Lasso, in which she stars alongside Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham’s career has been a slow burner.

The actress was born in London and attended a private school for girls before going on to study at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. Her mother, Melodie Kelly, was an opera singer who joined the English National Opera when Waddingham was a child.

Her grandparents were also both opera singers, and upon graduating Waddingham followed in their footsteps, focusing on becoming a theatre actress.

Hannah Waddingham attends the 74th Primetime Emmys.

From her early career to presenting Eurovision, here’s everything you need to know about Hannah Waddingham.

Hannah Waddingham on the West End

Waddingham stole the show at Eurovision with her incredible vocals, so it will come as no surprise to hear she has been nominated for a number of musical theatre awards, such as the Olivier Awards.

She has starred in West End shows including Kiss Me Kate, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game and Spamalot, a musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, left, and English actress Hannah Waddingham present the first semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.

Earlier this year, Waddingham also hosted the 2023 Olivier Awards performing a musical number to open the show.

Hannah Waddingham movies and TV shows: From Game of Thrones to Benidorm

In her early career on screen, Waddingham made a number of guest appearances in TV shows from Brookside to Not Going Out.

In 2014, she landed the role of Tonya Dyke in Benidorm and in 2015 she appeared in Game of Thrones as Septa Unella.

A still from Ted Lasso. Photo: Colin Hutton/Apple TV+

At 5ft 11” she towered over her costars, with her character forcing Cersei Lannister to admit her crimes while walking through the streets of King's Landing, waving a bell and shouting "shame”. Waddingham’s Septa Unella was then killed off at the end of season six, after being waterboarded with wine.

Waddingham has also appeared in Netflix series Sex Education, where she plays one of student Jackson Marchetti’s mothers.

In what has become her breakthrough role, Waddingham has starred in Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso as football club owner Rebecca Welton since 2020. In 2021 she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance, and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.

Waddingham’s other notable roles include Tom Jones, a new ITVX show, and appearances in films such as Hocus Pocus 2, is set to star in upcoming films Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part Two, Garfield and The Fall Guy.