Hannah Waddingham must be knackered. The West End legend slash one-woman beacon of joy started off 2023 by saying goodbye to Ted Lasso, the big-hearted Apple TV+ football comedy that earned her legions of fans on both sides of the Atlantic. She returned to theatreland to preside over this year’s Olivier Awards, then earned national treasure status in the UK during her stint co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. It was a perfectly pitched performance in more ways than one: a classically trained singer, Waddingham hit all the high notes in musical segments and leaned into the competition’s inherent camp. And – move over Mariah – she’s just put in a double shift as the new Queen of Christmas, lending her megawatt grin to festive ad spots for M&S and Baileys.
Her last hurrah before clocking off for the festive season? Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas – an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza for Apple, filmed at the London Coliseum. It’s reminiscent of those Audience With… specials that used to crop up on ITV’s Sunday night schedule – look closely and you’ll spot that channel’s poster boy Dermot O’Leary in the audience – but with some additional big-budget gloss (Waddingham and her guests are bathed in a glorious golden glow throughout). The perks of working with a megabucks tech giant, presumably – although Waddingham is definitely giving Apple its money’s worth. From the moment her cab pulls up outside the Coliseum, she’s belting out a festive ditty, charisma turned up to 11.
