Hannah Waddingham has addressed the viral video of her dressing down a photographer at the 2024 Olivier Awards.
The Ted Lasso star hosted the London theatre awards for a second time on Sunday (14 April).
While on the red carpet, a photographer appeared to shout “show me leg” in her direction. Waddingham could be heard replying, in footage captured by a bystander and shared on X/Twitter: “Oh my God, you’d never say that to a man.
“Don’t be a d***, otherwise I’ll move off. Don’t say ‘show me leg.’ No.”
Waddingham was cheered and applauded as she walked away, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Appearing on The One Show on Wednesday (17 April), Waddingham revealed she’d received a written apology from the photographer.
“I called out what needed to be… absolutely necessary to call out,” she said. “And I’ve received a written apology and so now I’m so ready to move on.
“And I’m not having it overshadow what was the most… I think even more than last year, it was the most glorious, joyful, positive night. I don’t usually say this, but I was really flipping proud of that night. It did exactly what we wanted It to. The whole place erupted like a bunch of lunatics. So that’s what the takeaway should be.”
Nicole Scherzinger’s Sunset Boulevard swept the Olivier Awards with seven wins. The former Pussycat Dolls singer took home the trophy for Best Actress in a Musical, with her co-star Tom Francis winning Best Actor
Sarah Snook, the Australian star of Succession, beat out fierce competition from Sarah Jessica Parker, Sheridan Smith, and Sophie Okonedo to win Best Actress for her role in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Waddingham recently opened up about a harrowing experience on the set of Game of Thrones – she played Unella on the HBO series, one of the Septa of the Faith of the Seven who carried out the bidding of the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce).
The star revealed she was “waterboarded for 10 hours” while filming a torture scene with Lana Headey’s Cersei Lannister.
“There I was strapped to a wooden table with proper big straps for ten hours,” said Waddingham. “And definitely, other than childbirth, it was the worst day of my life. Because Lena was uncomfortable pouring liquid in my face for that long, and I was beside myself.”