Statuesque Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham has made a rare admission about her life as a single mum, admitting that she made a conscious decision not to go ‘poor me’.
The national treasure, 51, became a single mother when her daughter Kitty was two, and says it was a defining moment which could have seen her sink or swim.
“In that moment, your career could falter because you’re left holding the baby”, the new Women’s Health cover star told the publication.
6View 6 ImagesThe actress also opened up about her career-defining role in Ted Lasso
6View 6 ImagesThe 51-year-old fits in a workout while ‘brushing her teeth’
“[But] I found in myself a strength. I thought, ‘No, I’m not going to sit in the corner with a duvet over my head and think, Oh, poor me.’ I’m going to come out fighting because I know that I have so much to give in my career.”
She adds proudly, “I talk about [single motherhood] all the time because it’s not the same as two parents. I know that sounds ridiculous and obvious, but I think people forget it.
“People go, ‘Oh yes, I’m by myself most of the time.’ But that’s not the same as being sole provider. She is undoubtedly my greatest achievement because of that.”
Waddingham shares Kitty, 11, with her ex, Italian hotelier Gianluca Cugnetto, who she was with for a decade before their split in 2022 – around the same time that her own career skyrocketed.
The star, who looks incredible in the cover shoot with Women’s Health, also revealed that she gets lots of nice comments about her toned arms as she opened up on her work-out secrets.
“I’d be lying if I said I did a lot. Just callisthenics [with] my own body weight and some light weights for 20 minutes in the morning. But I’ve always said to my friends: activate your muscles – every day.
“People are very lovely; they talk about my arms. I just keep activated. And never underestimate the value of doing squats the whole time you’re brushing your teeth.”
6View 6 ImagesShe does light weights for 20 minutes every morning
6View 6 ImagesHer motto is to ‘activate your muscles every day’
Known for her iconic performances in shows like Game of Thrones and Sex Education, it was her award-winning turn as fearless businesswoman Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso, a role she previously admitted she’d been waiting to play ‘her whole life’.
The show, back for its fourth season this August, follows Jason Sudeikis as its titular character, and his trials and tribulations as an American college football coach hired to manage professional English soccer team AFC Richmond, despite having zero experience.
Being cast as Rebecca in the show, Waddingham tells Women’s Health, was not only a huge moment in terms of her career – but also financial independence.
“It was a turning point in terms of being seen for the first time as not just a tall, bigger woman, but someone who has the same foibles, insecurities, vulnerabilities as anyone.
“But also the financial support I received at that moment…being able to stand on my own two feet with my daughter.”
She also says she hopes fans at home take the new season ‘to their hearts’ as much as they did the first three, as the female cast this time round ‘deserve people to lean in.’
“They walked in and owned it immediately – so I’m very reassured by the younger generation of female actors coming up; they’ve got it and then some.”
View 6 ImagesShe’s back in the fourth season of Ted Lasso later this year(Image: Apple TV+)
The actress, who fuelled rumours at the Cheltenham Races in March that romance had blossomed with her handsome date – spine surgeon Nick Beresford-Cleary – will also be seen in upcoming Amazon Prime series, Ride Or Die.
A high-octane comedy action thriller co-starring Octavia Spencer and Bill Nighy, Waddingham plays Judith, an assassin whose double life implodes, forcing her to drag her best friend into a high-stakes escape.
She didn’t baulk at the intensely physical aspects of the role, either – doing all her own stunts even though she was hit with a couple of nasty injuries along the way.
She says, ““I gave myself fully to the stunts. I’d work on a stunt for a week and then shoot it, then the next day I’d have to learn the next one. I was like, ‘Guys, I’m mangled – can we just leave it a minute?’
“At one point, I had a fairly gnarly calf injury in my gastrocnemius muscle, which was horrific. [There were times when] I thought, ‘What on earth have you got yourself involved with, woman?’
“But when I watch it back, I can’t believe I did it…when I was on set and they shouted ‘Action!’, I was a beast.”
The full interview with Hannah Waddingham can be read in the June issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now.
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