Hannah Waddingham wanted Ted Lasso back with a women's team

On Graham Norton's sofa, the actress recalls thinking the series was finished and explains why its warmth mattered beyond its pandemic-era arrival.

Channel: BBC Story of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 157,337 views a day, 11 times a normal first day on this channel (14,631).

Hannah Waddington thought 'Ted Lasso' was finished - BBC

Hannah Waddingham had a less-than-sentimental comparison ready when Ted Lasso returned: "It's like exhuming your beloved, dead dog." She tells Graham Norton that the joke got her slightly told off.

Behind it was genuine surprise. Waddingham, who plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton, says she had believed the series was completely finished. But she had also hoped that, if it returned, it would feature a women's team. In the BBC interview clip, she praises the women who joined the series for rising to the challenge.

The excerpt has drawn nearly 79,000 views in eight hours, already well beyond the BBC channel's usual full-day audience for a Short. A separate Ted Lasso Short posted by the broadcaster is also making an unusually fast start.

Norton brings the conversation back to the show's audience, and Waddingham offers an explanation for its appeal: people were ready for positivity. She contrasts that warmth with comedy roasts, which she says she does not personally enjoy, and pushes back on reducing the show's success to its arrival during COVID.

Viewers are looking beyond the return itself. Some discuss the possibility of more seasons and stories centered on the team's supporting characters. Waddingham's own wish, though, is specific: a women's team was the version of a comeback she had been hoping for.

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Hannah Waddingham wanted Ted Lasso back with a women's team The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/bbc-19601/?from=kit

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The numbers

The Ted Lasso excerpt has already exceeded the BBC's usual first-day views for a Short, with only eight hours online.

the video's first day

usual first day here

14,631

this video

157,337

subscribers

15,700,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

13,002,192,663

views per day

2,300,085

typical day: 4,607,933

the video

views

78,552

likes

1,642

comments

49

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Gordon Ramsay

22,000,000

BBC

15,700,000

HISTORY

15,500,000

Dropout

15,300,000

Comedy Central

12,600,000

Still Watching Netflix

11,000,000

As of October 29, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.