SHE'S TAKING CENTER STAGE

THEATER VET HANNAH WADDINGHAM CONTINUES TO SHINE ON TV

TED LASSO Apple TV+ The writers on Ted Lasso aren't afraid to drop in a musical reference here or there. And when you do hear one, chances are it was put there by a guy on the writing staff. "It's all the boys," says Brett Goldstein, who plays gruff player turned assistant coach Roy Kent and is also a writer. "It's me, Jason [Sudeikis], Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence. I think the women on the writing team are like, yeah, but the boys are like, la-la-la." So imagine Goldstein's delight when he found out that Hannah Waddingham-who has been nominated for an Olivier Award (the West End's equivalent of the Tony Awards) three times for best actress in a musical-had been cast as Rebecca, the owner of AFC Richmond. "I was a huge fan," he says. "I've been stalking her for years." Waddingham (below right, with costar Juno Temple) won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy in 2021 for the first season of Ted Lasso, in which she showed off her voice in a "Let It Go" karaoke scene, and was nominated again last year. With Season 3 now streaming, she recently talked about her castmates, strong women and that infamous darts scene.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: As the show has evolved, Rebecca and Keeley [the PR maven played by Temple) have become a dynamic duo. Was that always the plan?