From co-creators Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, the beloved fan favorite Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso is currently in its third season with AFC Richmond trying to find their rhythm again, as Rupert (Anthony Head) takes full advantage of the fact that “wonder kid” Nate (Nick Mohammed) is now on the side of rivals West Ham United. Although Ted (Sudeikis) would prefer to take the high road in his coaching, pressure to win coupled with some domestic issues back in America threaten the very delicate hold he has on his own anxiety.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Hannah Waddingham (who plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond and Ted’s boss) talked about wanting to stay in denial about the possible end of the series, not being willing to even think about a spinoff, finding Rebecca’s inner strength while still also being aware of her Achilles heel, her introduction to Zava (Maximilian Osinski), and the Rebecca and Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) relationship.
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Collider: With everyone continuing to ask whether this is the last season of Ted Lasso, how do you feel about that possibility? When the time comes, will it be harder to say goodbye to Rebecca than other characters that you’ve played?

HANNAH WADDINGHAM: Well, for a start, we don’t know if it’s officially the end. It’s certainly the end of this three-season arc. That’s what I’m clinging onto because I can’t cope with an end. I can’t cope with not seeing what happens to Rebecca in the final analysis, or any of them, for that matter. But the thing is, I will always have these people in my life, undoubtedly. If this is the end, then I say goodbye to Rebecca, and of all the people that I don’t want to say goodbye to, it’s her.

Image via Apple TV+

Even if it’s saying goodbye to Ted Lasso as we currently know it, I’m holding out hope that, in some way, it will evolve into something else.

WADDINGHAM: Should we be in rampant denial together?

I refuse to acknowledge that it could end.

WADDINGHAM: Yeah, and I’m going to refuse to acknowledge it with you.

Rebecca is my queen boss bitch. If they came to you and told you that they wanted to do a spinoff about Rebecca, just hypothetically speaking, and you could set it anywhere and do anything with her, what would be the dream for you?

WADDINGHAM: You know what? I genuinely can’t even think about that. I wouldn’t know how to let that in because I can’t imagine, first of all, not being with Ted. And secondly, I am so immersed in the Greyhound world that my brain literally won’t let that in. It’s very strange. I can hear you, but I’m not acknowledging it.

Since we met Rebecca, she’s always been a boss, but she feels like someone who has really come to have a confidence in herself that she maybe didn’t have initially. Opening up to Ted to Keeley and even to Higgins has given her some of that. What have you most enjoyed about how far she’s grown, up until now? What’s it like to live in who she is now?

WADDINGHAM: She has grown and she has found an inner strength, but she still has an Achilles heel, in the shape of Rupert. I love that she can’t shift it because that’s life, isn’t it? Some people just push your buttons, and I love that he’s pushing her buttons again, in an unashamed way, just like he did before, in that dart scene when he was so offensive about her. I love playing those free-falling, exposed parts of Rebecca more than anything because that is who we all are.

Image via Apple TV+

Do you feel like she’s at least in a place where she can handle him better than she could before?

WADDINGHAM: I think some days she can and some days she can’t. She’s trying to take, not two steps forward, but a big, fat leap forward, and there’s just something about him. I’ve always thought of it as, he almost has the power to trickle poisonous oil in her ear and it does something to her chemicals, and spits something out that she doesn’t like in herself, but she hasn’t worked out a way yet to confront that and put a wet blanket on the flames.

Rebecca doesn’t deal with the players directly much because that’s the job of the coaches, but she did have to get involved with landing Zava this season. Watching you walk up to him at the urinal, when he’s in a bit of a vulnerable position, and give him a verbal beat down, was truly so satisfying. What was that like to shoot?

WADDINGHAM: First of all, I think Max [Osinski] is an absolutely brilliant actor. When he first came in, Juno Temple and I were chatting in the stand, and I was like, “Who is that?!” I hadn’t laid eyes on him. I had no idea how they were gonna dress him. I was like, “This man is perfect for this role.” So, I was already chomping at the bit to get into his eyeballs and give him a dressing down. It was so much fun because I already had seen on the monitor how he was playing Zava, and I just thought, “Oh, yeah. We’ll see about that.” It was so much fun. And then, when we see him in my office, I’m like, “What are you doing, sitting behind my desk? What are you doing?! Nobody does that unless I’ve invited you to.” So, I loved that we got the confrontational Rebecca back. I love that, in Season 3, we get some attrition with him, we get some attrition with Ted, and we get some attrition with Rupert. I like it when she smacks up against people because Season 2 was a little bit more harmonious.

I also love Rebecca and Sam, especially when you have her relationship with Rupert to contrast that with. What have you personally enjoyed about them getting together and what he brought to her life?

WADDINGHAM: I just love how it was written, with the fact that it was through that app, where it’s a soul that’s meeting a soul. The writing was so beautiful for that. And I have so much time for Toheeb Jimoh. We love each other very much and have great respect for each other. So, when that first came around, we were both like two grinning Cheshire cats, that we were gonna get a chance to actually play together. It’s created a bond between us that will 100% never go.

Image via Apple TV+

After three seasons of this show, what have you really most enjoyed about Rebecca’s journey of growth and who she is now, as opposed to who she was when we met her?

WADDINGHAM: I like the fact that we really do see a change in Rebecca this season. I very much lent into the fact that I wanted her hair to be slightly different and softer. I love that her clothes are a little bit more out there. There’s some difference in the color. I was very instrumental in that shift in her. The thing I do love playing most is her free-falling again. It wasn’t that I struggled in Season 2, but there wasn’t as much for me to get my teeth into, in terms of her lack of knowing what the hell she’s doing. I love the fact that she’s a proper hot mess again.

Which leads to her begrudgingly seeing a psychic. Will that become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as far as what the psychic said to her, getting into her head at all?

WADDINGHAM: I don’t know. But for her to hear all this information, from somebody who she doesn’t care for in the first place, is a lot. It’s a hard pill to swallow. She’s like, “Who the fuck do you think you are?! Who are you to talk to me like that?” I love the fact that she spits back at her. But when she leaves, she sits in her car and sobs because it is still invoking a reaction in her, which is probably needed.

Ted Lasso is available to stream at Apple TV+.