'Ted Lasso' Star Hannah Waddingham Forced to Quit New Role Over 'Frustrating' Health News
Hannah Waddingham is taking a step back from her career to focus on his health. The 47-year-old Ted Lasso star went to social media to announce she has a "respiratory infection" and revealed she had to quit an upcoming role, which was the Old Friends tribute show honoring the legacy of musical theatre icon Stephen Sondheim who died in November in at the age of 91, according to Deadline.
"With the heaviest, deeply frustrated of hearts, due to a truly horrible ongoing upper respiratory infection brought on by full-blown flu, I have had to admit defeat and step down from the Sondheim Memorial Gala Old Friends," Waddingham wrote. "It's a decision that I'm sure everyone know I have not taken lightly… I'm truly gutted and can't quite believe the timing. My love and support to all of those performing and my unswerving, never ending thanks and love to Stephen for letting me into his world and blessing me with his unparalleled." The event took place at the Sondheim Theatre in London on May 3 and starred Judi Dench, Bernadette Peters, and Helena Bonham Carter among others.
As Waddingham is getting healthy she is also in the middle of filming Season 3 of Ted Lasso. Photos of her and Jason Sudeikis recently appeared online, and it shows the two working on the new season of the Apple TV+ series. Waddingham plays Rebecca Welton who is the owner of the soccer team AFC Richmond, and Sudeikis plays the title character who is the coach of the team.
In February, Waddingham spoke to Entertainment Tonight about the Ted Lasso possibly ending after Season 3. She said: "If I were Apple and Warner Bros., I'd be leaning on him like a lunatic and putting him in a corner in a little cage and giving him a notebook and a pen... It's too beautiful."
Waddingham also talked about not knowing what to expect from the third season, saying, "They are just brilliant, brilliant brains, but they know better than to tell me anything at all." Ted Lasso has been a huge hit for Apple TV+, winning four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. The series also stars Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed and Juno Temple.