If you ask me, football Ted Lasso is life. That’s why I’ve personally been counting the minutes until season four is set to debut. (Save the date: The first episode drops on Apple TV on August 5, woot!) But it’s funny—Jason Sudeikis may play the ever-quotable series lead, but I can’t get enough of Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of AFC Richmond and the most badass boss lady to ever grace the fictional soccer field.
The Shocking Reason ‘Ted Lasso’ Star Hannah Waddingham Looks So Familiar
Anyone else watch ‘Sex Education’?
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Published Aug 3, 2026
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Apple TV
Apple TV
There’s quite a lot to love about Rebecca: Her partnership with Ted, her friendship with Keeley Jones (played by Juno Temple), even her enviable grip on her own mental health. On the show, she’s a force. Not only that, she can sing! (Cue the season one episode where she busts out “Let It Go” from Frozen at a karaoke bar.) But as I grew to love her character more and more, it kept bugging me: Where do I know her from? Then it hit me: She played Sofia Marchetti on another breakout series called Sex Education.
Netflix
In case you’ve forgotten it, Sex Education was a coming-of-age series starring Otis (Asa Butterfield), a high school student whose mother (played by Gillian Anderson) happens to be a sex therapist. This leaves Otis with wisdom beyond his years, but also, oops, puts him off on the act itself. Enter cool-girl Maeve (Emma Mackey) who, after discovering Otis’s gift, comes up with a business plan to open their own sex clinic at school and tackle subjects such as unrequited love, self-esteem issues and more. (This smart and absolutely stellar series ran on Netflix for four seasons from 2019 to 2023.)
Waddingham was a series regular, playing the unrelenting mother of Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling), star of the high school swim team, who starts to balk at the pressure of being at the top. Her role was limited, but super memorable, providing a nuanced take on a parent who wants her child to succeed, but pushes too much. Funnily enough, it was also another series that was set in the U.K.
In the first two seasons of Sex Education, Sofia was considered a main character, mainly because she inspired Jackson’s passion for competitive swimming. Sofia’s role became less prominent in season three, where she only made a brief appearance. Netflix didn’t explain why Waddingham’s character was less involved in season three, but there are two possible reasons. First, the actress may have committed to other projects—like Ted Lasso—that interfered with the show’s filming schedule. And second, perhaps Netflix limited the number of people on set due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Either way, I’m so thrilled to connect the dots. Also, I officially have another reason to re-watch Sex Education (and one of my favorite new Waddingham shows, Ride or Die).
