Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham 'shades' Amanda Holden at Eurovision

Ted Lasso and Game of Thrones star Hannah Waddingham has swapped acting for presenting this week as a member of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest hosting team.

The actress presented the first semi-final on Tuesday (May 9) evening, alongside Britain’s Got Talent judge and former Strictly Come Dancing star Alesha Dixon, and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina.

However, it wasn’t long before Waddingham was seemingly poking fun at a moment from a previous competition, taking aim at Amanda Holden.

Related: BBC confirms Doctor Who star for surprising Eurovision role

Standing on stage at Liverpool Arena, Waddingham spoke French as she explained the rules of the semi-final to the audience and viewers at home.

"Et maintenant, j’ai le plaisir de le faire en français. Il y a quinze candidats mais seulement dix places pour la grande finale de Samedi," she said, which translates to: "And now, I have the pleasure of doing it in French. There are 15 candidates but only 10 places for the grand finale on Saturday."

After speaking fluently in French, Waddingham reverted to English to say: "You see Europe, some of us Brits do bother to learn another language. Just saying."

"Thank goodness for Hannah!" Dixon laughed.

Related: BGT star Alesha Dixon pays tribute to Eurovision in live TV rap

Eurovision fans quickly flocked to Twitter to highlight how Waddingham’s remark appeared to be a cheeky dig at Holden.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge famously made it clear she struggled with other languages when she announced how the UK had allocated their points in 2021’s Eurovision final.

"Good evening. Bon Soir. Goedenavond. That is 'good evening' in French and Dutch, although I’ve got absolutely no idea which is which," Holden said, at the time.

Related: Graham Norton admits it's "terrifying" hosting Eurovision in the UK

"Hannah Waddingham throwing shade at Amanda Holden already?!" one viewer tweeted. "I love her so much!!!! #Eurovision."

"Finally catching up with Eurovision and Hannah Waddingham owning it by suddenly dropping into French with a great London accent and brilliantly timed joke at the same time!" another Eurovision viewer wrote. “Also note Alesha Dixon cackling away like she understood what Hannah was saying in French!”

Eurovision's last Semi-Finals airs on May 10 on BBC Four. The Grand Final will air on May 13 from 8 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Doctor Who returns later in 2023 on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Meanwhile, in the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Classic Doctor Who streams on Britbox in the UK.

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