‘I’ve Had A Drink, I Wasn’t Expecting This’: Hannah Waddingham Gives Another Killer Awards Show Speech

Hannah Waddingham commemorated her latest awards show win with a speech that pretty much summed up everything we love about her.

The Ted Lasso star received a prize at the Royal Television Society Awards on Tuesday night for her work as the co-host of last year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

As Hannah made her way onto the stage, comedian Tom Allen joked to “all the gays” in the audience that they needed to “please sit down”, prompting the Emmy winner to sing: “I don’t know where I’d be without my gays!”

“Do you know what?” she began. “I am creased, I’ve had a drink, I wasn’t expecting this, I feel a little bit disheveled. Hold on – let me just gather my thoughts.”

She continued: “I don’t know if you know this – you probably do because you’re very important people – but I had not presented a bloody thing before last year. And these chaps [at Eurovision] were so brilliant, taught me how to read an autocue, and it was one of the greatest weeks of my life, and I’m not exaggerating here.

“And I’m so, so chuffed, when that call came in, and they asked me to do it, I was like, ‘has someone decided not to do it and you’re getting me in at that last minute? Because you realise I’ve never done this before?’. For it to come to this – thank you so much, guys!”

Following the ceremony, Hannah wrote on X: “I was so giddy and shocked I forgot to thank [the Royal Television Society] so THANK YOU!”

Hannah is currently in the running for a TV Bafta for her work at Eurovision, which she co-hosted last year with Graham Norton, Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina.

Meanwhile, her recent festive special Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas has also been recognised on the Best Entertainment Programme shortlist.