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Hannah Waddingham Reveals How Ted Lasso Season 2 Paralleled Her Real Life

In an exclusive interview with E! News, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, who nabbed a 2022 Emmy nomination, revealed that one season two scene hit a bit too close to home during filming.

By Alyssa Ray Jul 12, 2022 11:43 PMTags
Watch: Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham Recalls Greatest On-Screen Gift

Art can imitate life, even in the most stressful of times.

Hannah Waddingham learned that while filming season two of Ted Lasso, as she grappled with her father undergoing a major surgery while filming a funeral scene for her on-screen dad. Pretty jarring, right?

Not for Hannah, who called the poignant episode, titled "No Weddings and a Funeral," "the greatest gift" of her career. "Not many people know this, but my own father, that day, was having emergency quintuple bypass surgery," Hannah, who plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton on the Apple TV+ series, exclusively told E! News. "And I had said goodbye to him that morning, not knowing whether I would ever see him again."

As Hannah detailed, being with the Ted Lasso cast and crew got her through that day. "It's something that I'll never forget, the distraction that I had," she added. "There was a certain amount of catharsis in being able to release on camera, because had I been shooting a day where she was meant to be sassy or bold or boss a-- bitch or whatever, I would have probably struggled more."

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Where You've Seen the Ted Lasso Cast Before

She specifically credited co-stars Juno Temple, Toheeb Jimoh, Harriet Walter and Jason Sudeikis for being her support system, adding, "I want people to know how supportive my team of players were that day. They were true friends."

The love and dedication was certainly felt by viewers, as the second season of Ted Lasso nabbed 20 nominations for the 2022 Emmys, including acting honors for Hannah, Toheeb, Juno and Jason.

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And, despite being last year's winner in the Outstanding Supporting Actress In a Comedy Series category, Hannah told E! News that she was not expecting a second nomination.

"I thought, 'She's one and done,'" she quipped. "Because there are so many brilliant, brilliant performers around in this supporting category."

Hannah was happily proven wrong, as her name—and Juno's—was announced alongside Ted Lasso co-star Sarah Niles, Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon, HacksHannah Einbinder, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Alex Borstein, Abbott Elementary's Janelle James and Abbott Elementary's Sheryl Lee Ralph.

To see who brings home the prize, catch the 2022 Emmys when they air on NBC and Peacock Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET.

For a full recap of the 75th Emmy Awards, check out E! Online's Emmys homepage here.