Actress Hannah Waddingham is a household name these days, thanks to her wonderful work as Rebecca Welton in Apple TV’s hit sports sitcom “Ted Lasso” — so it should probably come as no surprise that her acting debut was in another massively popular sitcom years prior.
Before the actress made her mark with “Lasso” or her villainous guest arc on “Game of Thrones,” she played a lap dancer named Jenny Turbot on an episode of the British series “Coupling,” which aired on BBC Two and BBC Three for four seasons from 2000 to 2004.
Waddingham appeared in the Season 3 premiere, titled “Split,” which aired in September 2002. Her scene showed her as a dancer who spends time with lead character Steve (Jack Davenport) and his friends at a strip club one night after he and his girlfriend, Susan (Sarah Alexander), break up. One of Steve’s friends recognizes her from grade school, and it’s a hilarious moment that highlights the kind of scene stealer Waddingham would become known as later in her career (especially considering her very early-aughts hairdo, which does some scene stealing of its own).
Hannah Waddingham’s first-ever role got her noticed overseas
“Coupling,” which follows a group of English 30-somethings in the dating scene, may not have necessarily catapulted Hannah Waddingham’s career, but it was popular. The show was critically praised upon its debut season, with creator and writer Steve Moffat being lauded for his originality and inventiveness. Despite this, the series started off slowly in the ratings, but it managed to improve, which gave it a life beyond Season 1.
“Coupling” went on to win best TV comedy at the 2003 British Comedy Awards, was internationally syndicated, and even sparked some remakes around the globe. Needless to say, the sitcom got Waddingham in front of a lot of eyes in the United Kingdom.
Waddingham’s appearance on “Coupling” came six years before she would appear in her first film, 2008’s “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People,” in which she played a minor character named Elizabeth Maddox. In the time between those two projects, she appeared in several one-off guest-starring roles, small guest stints, and roles in TV movies. It would be a while before Hannah Waddingham became a television sensation, but even all the way back on “Coupling,” it was clear she always had the stuff.
