In her interview for the “Hannah Waddingham Christmas Special,” star actress Hannah Waddingham talks about her show’s partnership with Apple TV+ and why the London Colliseum is special.
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00:00 I have a beautiful mixture of friends and global stars.
00:17 So I have Leslie Odom Jr. from Hamilton, that my daughter is absolutely obsessed with.
00:25 I couldn't have done this without him.
00:27 I have the glorious Luke Evans, who I don't think needs any introduction really,
00:32 but he and I have known each other for a good 20 years from musical theatre.
00:37 I have my beloved friends, who I've known for like 25 years.
00:43 They are my daughter's godfathers, Scott Baker and Pat Davy, the fabulous lounge swingers.
00:51 And then I have Sam Ryder, who I really want everyone in the world to see.
00:58 He's far more known in Europe because he was in the Eurovision Song Contest last year.
01:05 The most extraordinary rock voice.
01:08 And then I'm so honoured to be joined by the English National Opera Chorus,
01:13 where my mum was a chorister with them for 30 years.
01:16 And it's like having my aunties and uncles on stage, so that's a great thing for me.
01:21 I can't quite believe it, it's a proper pinch-me moment.
01:23 And finishing up we have the London Gay Men's Chorus, of whom I'm a patron.
01:28 So an epic gaggle of beauties.
01:32 Apple is an obvious home because they've been so glorious and encouraging to me.
01:39 And it was really lovely when we talked about it with them.
01:43 The London Coliseum, the home of the English National Opera, has been my home.
01:48 Absolutely my home since I was eight years old.
01:51 My mum started in the chorus here.
01:54 But it has always held such a place in my heart that I thought it has to be here or nowhere.
01:59 And to have the full backing of the managers and creative directors here,
02:06 many of whom say, "I remember you when you were little, I remember your mum so dearly."
02:11 I remember earlier somebody saying, "Your mum always used to say, 'Isn't it great that we're here?
02:14 I'd do it even if I wasn't paid.'" And that's where I get it from.
02:17 So it's a love letter to this building.
02:20 The biggest thing actually is the fact that I used to sit in the little box,
02:27 which as you look out from the stage is downstage left, and that was like my little nook.
02:32 And it was always left for me.
02:35 And I would just sit there and watch all these extraordinary rehearsals with Willard White and Josephine Barstow
02:43 and all these just incredible opera singers of that time.
02:47 My biggest thing was I used to travel in on the Tube with my mum,
02:51 and she would just let me out of the paddock and run wild.
02:56 And she would be doing rehearsals on stage, and she'd kind of tip me the wink,
03:00 and I'd go through the pass door and go down to the canteen.
03:03 And I used to stand at stage door waiting for her to finish.
03:07 I mean, literally outside the stage door waiting for her, I would run round,
03:10 and I was just left to my own devices.
03:12 And all these like 90 chorus members coming out, the lead artist, the orchestra, all like,
03:18 "Night, Hannah." And I'm sure all the people in the auditorium that would wait at stage door for autographs
03:23 would just go, "Who is this child?"
03:26 And I just didn't know that that wasn't a normal thing for kiddies.
03:32 And when I told her that I was doing this and I wanted to do it here,
03:35 she went, "Oh, what are we doing? What do I need to do?"
03:40 And I love that performer reaction of thinking she was doing it with me,
03:45 and I just said, "No, I'm doing this for you."
03:48 So it's incredible that I was here from the age of eight,
03:51 and now I'm fronting my own show here for a mighty beast like Apple.
03:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]