How Hannah Waddingham and Jason Sudeikis’ “Shallow” Duet Happened

The Big Picture

• Fans of Ted Lasso got a surprise when Hannah Waddingham joined Jason Sudeikis for a duet at a charity concert. The moment went viral.
• The surprise duet was Waddingham’s idea because the original song choice didn’t suit either her or Sudeikis.
• The viral success of the duet resulted in a significant amount of money raised for the Steps of Faith charity organization. Waddingham is grateful for the viralness and the support.

Fans of Ted Lasso — and of the TedBecca ship in particular — got the surprise and thrill of a lifetime earlier this week. Rebecca Welton herself, Hannah Waddingham, joined her co-star Jason Sudeikis at THUNDERGONG! 2023, a concert benefitting Steps of Faith, which raises money for amputees in need. Initially, it seemed like Sudeikis was going to perform a duet of “Shallow” — from the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga — with his longtime friend Will Forte, a callback to a similar performance in 2019. But just as Forte was set to start singing, he was interrupted by Waddingham belting out the Lady Gaga half of the song, in a moment that has now gone viral.

But how did this surprise duet come about? In an interview with Collider’s Christina Radish for her holiday special Home For Christmas, Waddingham revealed all, saying:

“It was actually my idea, but only because, by default, we were gonna be doing a different song. And then, two days before, myself and Billy Brimblecom, who’s the actual main frontman for the Steps of Faith charity organization that we were there for, raising money for amputees who have no health insurance. He was just like, “Jason is saying that it’s probably a bit too high for him.” I was saying that the song we’d chosen was a bit too low for me. And I was just like, “Well, he’s sung ‘Shallow’ with Will Forte, hasn’t he? Maybe we just do that and get it out there in a different way.”

As wonderful as the viral success was for fans who have missed seeing Waddingham and Sudeikis together since Ted Lasso wrapped up its three-season run this spring, there has been a material advantage too, in dollars raised for Steps of Faith. As Waddingham put it:

“[H]onestly the money we have raised that night – myself and Jason and Brendan Hunt, Will Forte, Sam Richardson, Nathaniel Rateliff – absolutely surpassed anything they could have imagined. So, I am here for all the viralness. That’s a technical term for all the viral enjoyment of that. Since then, they’ve raised even more tens of thousands of dollars in merch because of that video.”

What’s Next For Hannah Waddingham?

Fans will soon be able to catch Waddingham back on Apple TV+ in her new holiday special Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas, which premieres on the streamer on November 22 globally. Filmed in front of a live audience at London’s Coliseum theater, the musical special will also feature appearances from Sam Ryder, Luke Evans, Leslie Odom Jr., Phil Dunster, a live 18-piece band, the English National Opera, The Fabulous Lounge Swingers, and the London Gay Men’s Chorus.

You can watch the full “Shallow” clip below, and catch Sudeikis and Waddingham in all three seasons of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+.

Watch on Apple TV+