Ted Lasso’s Ellie Taylor reveals the fate of Apple TV’s hit show for the long-awaited season four

Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor has hinted the cult series will be returning for a fourth season.

The AppleTV+ hit starring Jason Sudeikis as the eccentric American coach of Premier League outfit AFC Richmond was tipped to finish after Ted returned home at the end of the third series.

But a huge demand for a follow up appears to have kickstarted talks and Ellie, 41, who plays Flo ‘Sassy’ Collins, is hoping its comeback will be confirmed soon.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Ellie said: ‘I’ve heard that apparently, maybe there is going to be a series four. It would be lovely if there was because everyone loves the Ted Lasso universe, so I wonder if there’s room for that to expand or grow or continue in some way.’

She added: ‘I feel so lucky to be part of such a beloved show. Rarely are you part of something that means so much to so many people.

‘It came out over lockdown and entertainment was so important to all of us and it became this uncynical bit of joy. The latest series was a few years ago and people still want to talk to me about it like it was out last week.’

Ted Lasso helped elevate the profiles of not only Ellie, but other British cast members including Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Phil Dunster and Brett Goldstein, and was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Indeed, off the back of the show, Ellie landed three prominent TV gigs – Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Gladiators and a Netflix gameshow called Cheat alongside unlikely host, Danny Dyer.

The former model and stand-up star partnered Johannes Radebe in the 2022 series, eventually won by Hamza Yassin.

It was the season before the BBC show was hit by scandal courtesy of Amanda Abbington’s bullying complaints about partner Giovanni Pernice, but unlike her fellow actress, Ellie has only fond memories of participating.

She explained: ‘I am so glad I did it and I have all the videos to look back on otherwise it does feel like it never happened.

‘I loved it and really enjoyed my time on the show. I probably enjoy it more as a viewer now because I appreciate how much work from so many different teams it takes to get it on the TV and how hard the celebrities are working, it’s brave and ballsy and terrifying. It’s made me like it even more really.

‘With standup at least it’s something that I’m meant to be good at and it’s my job but being marked and judged on something that is really not your day job and you’re terrified about, that was pretty full on.

‘But you soon learn that it’s a competition with yourself and you are judged in your own individual way. You can’t look at anyone else’s scores.’

On her dance partner Johannes, she added, ‘You can’t not get close because you’re shoved together physically and geographically and emotionally for quite a long time.

‘I was in Strictly for a lot longer than I anticipated, I experienced all of it much more deeply than I thought, I thought I would be out by week four. I stayed in for 10 weeks in the end, which was unbelievable.’

After Strictly, the mother-of-two landed a co-hosting gig with ex-EastEnders actor Danny on Cheat, which only lasted one series but will live long in the memory for her.

On what it was like working with the actor, Ellie said: ‘I absolutely loved working with Danny, it was wicked.

‘He’s a hoot so I really, really enjoyed working with him. He’s exactly as he appears to be, there’s no difference between on screen and off screen. He’s so funny and poetic and the way he speaks is bonkers and I thoroughly enjoyed that job.

‘I loved seeing him in Rivals which was such a different part. He gets a bit of stick from people and people don’t take him seriously as an actor but he’s so talented and it’s so lovely to see him get the recognition now that perhaps he hasn’t had.

‘I would love to be in Rivals series two. The hair, I look great in shoulder pads, come on let’s make this happen.’

And over the festive period Ellie, alongside Louise Minchin, Rob Beckett and Joel Dommett, became the first stars to appear on a celebrity-themed Gladiators since its BBC reboot and she’s still feeling the effects weeks after.

Ellie, who beat Louise to win the battle of the girls, explained: ‘It was brutal. I thought I had been hit by a bus made of muscly women, but it was wicked. It felt like I had been beaten inside.

‘But a couple of weeks later I was alright. It was no walk in the park, that’s for sure.’

Essex-born Ellie, who is married to Aussie reporter Phil Black, started her career as a model before making the unlikely move into stand-up comedy, bagging her big break by starring in 2011 ITV series Show Me the Funny, an X Factor-style contest for aspiring stand-up comedians.

She’s since become a familiar face on comedy panel shows including 8 Out of Ten Cats and Mock The Week, and has performed – and hosted – Live At The Apollo.

And she’s managed to achieve all this while balancing being a mother of two young children, daughter Valentina, six, and son Rhino, one, who will soon be seeing her only during the week when she heads out on tour with her Palavering!

Asked how she plans to juggle motherhood and her stand-up gigs, Ellie explained: ‘I’ll be doing it on the weekends and then I’ll come back.

‘The children will be at home, and I’ll be on very unglamorous trains and very unglamorous green rooms. 

‘For me at least it’s better for my family to stay at home and I have a fab husband who is all over that thankfully. 

Obviously, I don’t want to be apart from them and they don’t want to be apart from me but unfortunately, I am a standup comic, and you can’t gig from home, annoyingly. ‘Unless we can work out a sort of Abba Voyage version of my show, that would be good.

‘It’s a funny mix of not wanting to leave the kids, as all parents feel, but I really love my job, and I love what I do so I want to go out and tour. There are these two bits of your brain that compete the whole time.’

However, before her stand-up tour kicks in, Ellie has teamed up with the National Lottery in honour of their Open Week campaign, which takes place from the 15-23rd of March.

As part of the initiative, The National Lottery is providing free and discounted entry to a variety of venues across the country including the Eden Project, Imperial War Museum, and the Tower of London, as a way to thank players for their participation.

And Ellie says the campaign will help families experience a new adventure as the weather finally warms up – and it’s all possible with a National Lottery ticket.

She said: ‘Basically, players of the National Lottery raise 30 million pounds a week for good causes, which is an amazing statistic.

‘To say thank you to all the players, the National Lottery are doing this thing called Open Week, which gives free and discounted entry to loads of different venues around the UK. 

‘They vary from national trust properties to historic palaces to things like the Eden Project, there are some independent cinemas, there are lots of different options for the whole family and all you need is your National Lottery ticket.

‘It’s from the 15-23rd of March, what a nice thing to do something in spring that’s different from what you ordinarily do.’

• Visit the National Lottery Open Week website to find a venue near you. Use any retail or online National Lottery ticket, Scratchcard or Instant Win Game, for special offers at participating venues 15-23 March