Eurovision host, Hannah Waddingham has revealed she only discovered she was pregnant after previously being told it was unlikely she’d be able to have children.
The Ted Lasso star, 48, said she was stunned when the medical’s results came back during the casting process for the Benidorm role in 2014.
She had no idea she was expecting a baby until she was filming ITV comedy Benidorm – in which she played Tonya Dyke.
Speaking to the White Wine Question Time podcast in 2021 about how she learned of her fertility issues, Hannah – who played Tonya Dyke in the ITV sitcom – said: ‘Just kind of by accident really.
‘I did my medical for Benidorm and I got a letter back saying “blood type this, blah blah that, fertility low, deh deh deh”. ‘And I was like “woah, woah, woah, what?”. It was just on a form.’
Hannah was told it was unlikely she would be able to conceive, but soon went on to have her daughter Kitty, eight, with her ex Gianluca Cugnetto.
The actress – then a regular in theatre productions – added that she then decided to re-think her career to fit in with motherhood.
She said: ‘I was told it would be unlikely for me to conceive, so then when I did, she’s a precious little thing that was meant to come to me and I thought “Ok, I need to be with this precious little love that’s been given to me”.
‘Hannah realised the difficulty of combining being a mum with continuing her theatre stage acting six days a week with matinee performances on top.
This made her keen to find screen work and wanted it to be as close as possible to her London home.
She said: ‘So I’m really mindful always, and so appreciative, that the door for screen work swung open to me when it did.
The actress said she was grateful for her screen work during her pregnancy after performing in the theatre six days a week.
