For Hannah Waddingham, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
“I am like a child at Christmas. I love it,” the Ted Lasso superstar tells Billboard. “I don’t like acknowledging the fact that I’m nearly 50. I like to pretend that I’m still a little girl because I just find this time of the year totally magical.”
That’s why it was a no-brainer for the Emmy Award-winning actress to put on her own holiday special. In her upcoming AppleTV+ musical event, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, the star will welcome a slew of special guests for a “musical extravaganza” at the London Coliseum, which was recorded live in front of an audience.
In an exclusive clip above shared with Billboard on Friday (Nov. 17), Waddingham and her longtime friend and fellow actor Luke Evans perform a stunning duet of the festive classic, “Winter Wonderland.”
“How long have we known each other, darling? 20 years?” Evans asks Waddingham in the clip, before she says, “20 years! God, did you ever think we’d be on a stage like this?”
“Yup,” Evans hilariously replies, and Waddingham agrees, “Yeah, I did too.” The duo then break into a sweet slow dance before the final chorus.
“I wanted the special to be something for everyone,” Waddingham explains to Billboard. “I wanted a little boy or a little girl to go look at the background and go, ‘Wow.’ I want people to fall in love with the band. I want people to fall in love when they do a wide shot of the theater. I want people to shut their front doors, sit in front of the TV and feel hugged and loved and feel like they can smile and share something with a family, at any age, from four to 94.”
In her own home, Waddingham says Christmas is just as exciting, especially with her eight-year-old daughter Kitty. “I’ve had a resurgence when it comes to Christmas, thanks to my daughter,” she shares. “I mean, I go in with all of it, like the whole Elf on the Shelf and the snowy footprints, the half eaten carrot and all of that. So, until she proves to me otherwise that Father Christmas doesn’t exist, I will be doing the most and then some.”
She adds with a laugh, “My daughter knows that Christmas throws up in my house come December.”
Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas debuts globally on AppleTV+ on November 22.
