Hannah Waddingham: Parenting as a single mother is my greatest achievement
By Laura Harding, Press Association Entertainment Editor
Hannah Waddingham has said her daughter is “undoubtedly my greatest achievement” because of the challenge of raising her as a single parent.
The Ted Lasso star is mother to daughter Kitty and has raised her after splitting from her father, businessman Gianluca Cugnetto.
She told Women’s Health UK: “In that moment, your career could falter because you’re left holding the baby, (But) I found in myself a strength.
“I thought, ‘No, I’m not going to sit in the corner with a duvet over my head and think, Oh, poor me’.
“I’m going to come out fighting because I know that I have so much to give in my career.
“I talk about (single motherhood) all the time because it’s not the same as two parents. I know that sounds ridiculous and obvious, but I think people forget it.
“People go, ‘Oh yes, I’m by myself most of the time’. But that’s not the same as being sole provider. She is undoubtedly my greatest achievement because of that.”
Waddingham also spoke about how her role as football club owner Rebecca in Ted Lasso changed her life because it allowed her to provide for her child.
She said: “It was a turning point in terms of being seen for the first time as not just a tall, bigger woman, but someone who has the same foibles, insecurities, vulnerabilities as anyone.
“But also the financial support I received in that moment… being able to stand on my own two feet with my daughter.”
The show, about a fictional football team, will return for a new series in August and Waddingham said she hopes the fans embrace it.
She told the magazine: “I hope people take (this season) to their hearts as much as the first three seasons because the women in this season deserve people to lean in.
“The cast are fabulous, too – they walked in and owned it immediately – so I’m very reassured by the younger generation of female actors coming up; they’ve got it and then some.”
The full interview is in Women’s Health UK, out now.
