Hannah Waddingham has detailed being bullied when she was at school because of her height.
The actress, 49, who is 5ft 11in tall, recalled how she was ‘quite shy’ when she was in school and suffered with ‘terrible’ bullying.
She shared that she was teased by her classmates for being taller than them as she gave out a defiant message to her school bullies.
Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she said: ‘I was properly bullied. I got it terrible. I was quite shy, we’re called introverted extroverts that’s what it is.
‘They used to tease me about my height when they were much much smaller but… in your face… look at me now!’
Hannah Waddingham (pictured in November) has detailed being ‘terribly’ bullied when she was at school because of her height
Hannah has skyrocketed to global fame in recent years, securing roles on Ted Lasso, Game of Thrones and Sex Education, and went on to host Eurovision this year.
But before finding fame on the big screen, Hannah starred in West End musicals including Into the Woods and The Wizard of Oz, and returned to her singing roots in her Apple+ special Home For Christmas.
Hannah – who has a daughter Kitty, nine, from a previous relationship – admitted she became overcome with emotion performing festive classics at the London Coliseum, where her opera singer mother Melodie Kelly used to perform.
Hannah recalled: ‘My mum was a mezzo-soprano opera singer at the London Coliseum for 30 years. I know that building…from being a little kid at the age of eight until she retired when I was 38.’
‘It was amazing to be back there and for one of the songs I do, O Holy Night, the International Opera heard I was going to be there for a special and they offered to come to sing with me,’ she went on.
‘Some of them are still there who were there when my mum was there so that was pretty emotional.’
Hannah admitted she found it emotional performing for her mother – who has Parkinson’s – and her own daughter Kitty as they sat in the theatre box where she used to watch her mother perform.
She shared that she was teased by her classmates for being taller than them as she gave out a defiant message to her school bullies, saying: ‘But… in your face… look at me now!’
‘[Kitty] she was there, my mum as there and I dedicated the song to the two women in my life,’ she continued.
‘My beloved ma is heavily inflicted with Parkinson’s now and in a wheelchair and I didn’t know if her or my dad were going to be there at all, or even be alive.
‘So it was a really special, poignant moment and I actually thought I was going to struggle to sing but it came out okay.’
Hannah’s Christmas special debuted on Apple TV+ on November 22, and was dubbed as ‘spectacular’ and ‘sensational’ by reviewers.
Recorded live at the London Coliseum, the one-hour special features the Ted Lasso star ringing in the season with musical performances of beloved Christmas classics.
Joining Hannah on stage were Sam Ryder, Luke Evans, and Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr, as well as Phil Dunster who plays Jamie Tartt in Ted Lasso.
There were also appearances from additional performers including the English National Opera, the London Gay Men’s Chorus, The Fabulous Lounge Swingers and an 18-piece band.
The show won a string of positive reviews from critics who say Hannah is set for ‘world domination’ for her ‘perfectly pitched performance in more ways than one’.
But before finding fame on the big screen, Hannah starred in West End musicals including Into the Woods, and returned to her singing roots in her special Home For Christmas (pictured)
The Independent praised it as ‘like an old-fashioned variety show’ and say it is ‘reminiscent of An Audience with’ while the Guardian said ‘not even the Grinch could bah-humbug’ it.
‘Already an undisputed legend and icon, Waddingham has ascended even further into the stratosphere with this special, something she confessed had been a lifelong dream of hers to do,’ Yahoo said of the episode.
‘Waddingham doesn’t need to prove herself to anyone anymore. Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas makes that clear,’ Screen Speck said.
