For some, it’s the ability to dispatch some semi-skimmed into a cup of English breakfast, rendering it a shade best described as ‘biscuit’. For others, it’s a slice of white bread in a toaster for the 90 seconds it needs to give it that ‘just back from Beefa’ glow. But the way to Hannah Waddingham’s heart is with a well-cooked bit of bacon – only, ‘well’ isn’t the word she uses. ‘Annihilated’, she tells me, of how she likes her rashers. ‘If it’s not crisped to death, I’m afraid it’s going back. My other half always laughs and puts his head in his hands because he’s just like, “Oh my god, how many conversations can you have about bacon that shatters on the floor if you drop it?” But I just love it. That and avocado – if you sliced me open, I’m made of it.’
Having spent some 60 minutes in conversation with Hannah – and more watching her on screen – I suspect breakfast foods aren’t the only thing the platinum-haired, Emmy Award-winning stage-and-screen actor is made of. If directors found a way to bottle her blend of charismatic relatability and powerful poise, Hollywood would look different. Without such science, Hannah remains one of the few actors confidently straddling everything from blockbuster fantasy to heart-warming comedy with the kind of all-or-nothing gusto that leaves audiences willing her to succeed (and wishing she was their mate). And more than a love of toast-toppers. it’s the ‘f**k it’ energy she brings to her latest project that makes her a perfect WH cover star.
‘It mangled me senseless,’ she tells me, of her decision to do her own stunts for the soon-to-be released Amazon Prime series Ride Or Die. In it, Hannah plays Judith, whose double life as an assassin-for-hire collides with the marital breakdown of her best friend Debbie, played by Octavia Spencer of Hidden Figures fame. As the pair go on the run, their loyalty is tested – think: the slick action of Mr & Mrs Smith meets the buddy road-trip drama of Thelma & Louise.
‘I gave myself fully to the stunts,’ she confirms, of a schedule that was ‘a bit like Strictly’ – six-inch heels included. ‘I’d work on a stunt for a week and then shoot it, then the next day I’d have to learn the next one. I was like, “Guys, I’m mangled – can we just leave it a minute?”’ What did being mangled look like, I ask? ‘At one point, I had a fairly gnarly calf injury in my gastrocnemius muscle, which was horrific. [There were times when] I thought, “What on earth have you got yourself involved with, woman?” But when I watch it back, I can’t believe I did it.’ The secret to her stuntwoman success? Her theatre training – specifically, her ability to snap into character. ‘Because I would balk at all the rehearsals. But when I was on set and they shouted “Action!”, I was a beast.’
West End girl
Beast-mode is in Hannah’s blood. Born to parents Harry and Melodie in south-west London, she was inspired to tread the boards thanks to her classically trained mother’s long career as a mezzo-soprano with the English National Opera. ‘It’s taught me resilience and a muscularity with what I do,’ she reflects, on what the stage has gifted her. ‘Getting hold of a script, keeping myself well, keeping myself focused. And I’m a team player, always – that comes from theatre. When I was doing this shoot for Women’s Health, the photographer said, “It’s so nice to have someone come in and be interested in how we all pull together.” But it just wouldn’t cross my mind to not be like that.’
By the time she was cast in Ted Lasso as Rebecca Welton, the steely AFC Richmond club owner with a heart of gold, she was an Olivier Award-nominated veteran of the West End and Broadway stage, and had enjoyed much success on screen. But at 5ft 11in, Hannah towers over most of her co-stars – even more so in heels. ‘It was almost like tall actresses were a dirty word for decades,’ she tells me. ‘People would be perfectly nice but they’d go, “We’d love to use her, but I’m afraid we’ve already cast the man, and he’s 5ft 8in.” It’s a societal load of nonsense.’ There were notable roles as the bell-wielding religious fanatic Septa Unella (aka the ‘Shame Nun’) in Game Of Thrones and tiger mum Sofia Marchetti in Netflix’s Sex Education, but it was Rebecca that catapulted Hannah to the forefront of public consciousness; Ted Lasso’s most recent season has become the most-watched streaming original show in the US.
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For Hannah, the job could not have come at a better time. ‘It was a turning point in terms of being seen for the first time as not just a tall, bigger woman, but someone who has the same foibles, insecurities, vulnerabilities as anyone,’ she begins, by way of explanation. ‘But also the financial support I received in that moment… being able to stand on my own two feet with my daughter.’ Hannah became a single mother after her relationship with her partner broke down when their daughter was two – circumstances that, she suspects, could have spelled the end of her career. Instead, the situation ended up lighting a fire in her. ‘In that moment, your career could falter because you’re left holding the baby. [But] I found in myself a strength. I thought, “No, I’m not going to sit in the corner with a duvet over my head and think, Oh, poor me.” I’m going to come out fighting because I know that I have so much to give in my career.’
Body politics
Eight years, three seasons and one Emmy later, Hannah describes herself as a ferociously protective parent to her now 11-year-old – an approach born of ‘the buck stopping with me’. Her decision to discuss her experience of single motherhood is informed, in part, by what she sees as a societal misunderstanding of what it means. ‘I talk about [single motherhood] all the time because it’s not the same as two parents. I know that sounds ridiculous and obvious, but I think people forget it. People go, “Oh yes, I’m by myself most of the time.” But that’s not the same as being sole provider. She is undoubtedly my greatest achievement because of that.’
Now on the precipice of parenting a teenager, she cites ‘mum inferiority complex’ and ‘mum imposter syndrome’ alongside the requisite ‘mum guilt’ that the role reliably delivers. ‘Don’t be fooled that I’ve got it all together – I haven’t on any day,’ she insists. ‘But the most important thing now for me is keeping comms open. I check in with her much more than I did and I have always said that even if something shocks me in her life, even if I raise an eyebrow, I will always be in for all of it.’
It can’t be an easy time to come of age, I venture, amid the refetishisation of ultra-slim bodies. ‘We haven’t quite tipped into that yet,’ she begins, when I ask if body image is a topic on the table. ‘But I do wonder if that’s because she’s always observed me and my friends who are all, you know, healthy looking.’ How does Hannah feel about the ubiquity of GLP-1s on the red carpet, as someone who walks them regularly? ‘You’d have to be blind if you didn’t see it,’ she acknowledges, with the caveat that she doesn’t judge those who use the drugs. ‘My concern is always what that is doing to someone’s gut or nervous system. What is that doing to you down the line that’s going to come back and bite you on the arse? But by the same token, I’m lucky that I’ve never – at the moment – felt the need to intervene in that way.’ It helps, she jokes, that she’s terrified of needles, which also rules out cosmetic injectables. Instead, she goes for collagen-stimulating facials with star aesthetician Shane Cooper every three to four weeks. ‘I’m not one for the Band-Aid of something appearing to make you smoother for a couple of months,’ she shrugs. ‘It’s just not for me.’
Set the stage
In a world where women are encouraged to sandblast any sign of age off their skin when they’re still tackling teenage acne, Hannah’s gloriously expressive face – featuring actual laughter lines – is surely the most powerful argument for age positivity. But if she’s a vocal proponent for embracing the visible signs of ageing, she’s every bit as outspoken on the ones we can’t see. ‘Sure as life, sure as death, there’s menopause,’ she begins, when talk turns to the stage of life. ‘There has to be in order for us extraordinary female beings to bring life into the world. So I don’t know why people brush it under the carpet.’ It feels like one of those issues that women have been conditioned to feel embarrassed about, I posit. ‘But that’s what I mean –my brain genuinely doesn’t compute the shame of it all.’
One of the thorniest issues in the menopause conversation is the way in which symptoms show up at work – a scenario Hannah is all too familiar with. ‘While I was shooting on Ride Or Die out in Prague and doing all this very physical work, learning all these stunts, I could feel my mood dipping – and that’s not me,’ she recalls, of a symptom she later found a label for in the form of ‘brain fog’. ‘I feel like I was managing to do very little [that was] productive. I’m very much a glass-half-full kind of gal and I could feel that dipping. But you also get used to saying, “Oh, I’m run off my feet.” We try to get through each day the best we can and, because it creeps in slowly, it’s easy to not really notice until, like I say, the wheels have come off.’
At first, she brushed the symptoms off as tiredness, but her best friend wasn’t having it – and it was on her insistence that she went to get her hormones tested. It was the best advice she could have been given. ‘There’s no one that’s going to thank you for ignoring [those symptoms] and the only person that’s going to suffer is you. If you can, squirrel away enough money so that if you have a problem, you can deal with it – just as you might if you have a problem with a muscle or with your mind. But don’t stand on the periphery, doing very little. Get stuck in.’
Since doing just that, Hannah’s found a protocol that works for her; namely, a combination of HRT and holistic support, including supplements from Ancient + Brave and Artah. And in news unlikely to surprise you given the muscles on show in this shoot, movement features, too. ‘I’d be lying if I said I did a lot. Just calisthenics [with] my own body weight and some light weights for 20 minutes in the morning. But I’ve always said to my friends: activate your muscles – every day. People are very lovely; they talk about my arms. I just keep activated.’ She pauses, before adopting her best headteacher voice. ‘And never underestimate the value of doing squats the whole time you’re brushing your teeth.’ Does she have any advice for anyone in the thick of menopausal changes right now? ‘I would say seize who you are and love every second of your changes. It’s what I’m trying to do. Is it easy? No. Is it going to happen regardless? Yes. So take your own reins. Be the master of your own reins,’ she says, calling to mind a football manager delivering a rousing speech to the locker room.
New season
Speaking of locker rooms, we’re about to be acquainted with a new one. In January, Apple TV announced that the latest season of Ted Lasso – due to land in summer 2026 – will follow an all-female football team. It’s a canny move from showrunner and star Jason Sudeikis, following the runaway success of the women’s game on both sides of the pond, and a storyline Hannah – who played netball for Surrey in her youth – is delighted to see. ‘I hope people take [this season] to their hearts as much as the first three seasons because the women in this season deserve people to lean in,’ she enthuses. ‘The cast are fabulous, too – they walked in and owned it immediately – so I’m very reassured by the younger generation of female actors coming up; they’ve got it and then some.’
If there’s excitement on the work front, the contentment continues at home. She’s now on good terms with her child’s father and is in the first throes of dating someone – the aforementioned ‘other half’ and bacon-sceptic – although, she won’t be drawn on the details. ‘It’s taken me eight years,’ Hannah says, when asked about getting into a new relationship. ‘I didn’t really have the space mentally or emotionally for that. I’ve hunkered down and focused on my girl and me. [But] now I’m ready to stick my head above the parapet a bit more.’ I hope it’s a very good-looking parapet, I say. ‘It is!’ she cackles. ‘And it’s really lovely too, obviously, my relationship. But the best thing about it is, firstly, being happy and strong in myself.’ And more than brittle bacon and bathroom squats, I suspect it’s this self-possessed strength that Hannah is truly made of.
Make-up: Sophie Roberts at Berlin Associates using Shane Cooper Skincare
Hair: James Rowe at Bryant Artists using Fable & Mane
Manicurist: Aliyah Johnson at Carol Hayes Management using Essie
Tailor: Kim Lareau for Karen Avenell
This interview features in the June 2026 issue of Women's Health – out now. Subscribe to WH by hitting this link.
