I thought it couldn’t be done, but Hannah Waddingham has done it. After the washout coronation weekend, the Ted Lasso star has managed to revive the enthusiasm of this grumpy, cynical, perpetually disappointed nation. Hosting the Eurovision semi-finals, a warm-up to tonight’s grand final which she will also present, Waddingham warbled, shimmied, grinned, gurned and even spoke French. Alesha Dixon, a co-host, could only look on in fearsome awe. The impassioned tweets rolled in: “Whoever hired Hannah Waddingham for Eurovision should probably be made director general of the BBC,” said one. “Hannah Waddingham speaking French has made me bisexual,” said another. Someone simply posted a video of King Charles declaring “I come not to be served, but to serve” at his coronation but with the caption, “Hannah Waddingham presenting Eurovision yesterday”.
Even if we don’t take home the trophy (it might happen! OK, it won’t), we can at least say that Waddingham has made the UK look quite good on the global stage. Which is ironic, given that the musical theatre star turned Emmy Award-winning actor once admitted that “I had to go to America to be taken seriously”.
