Hannah Waddingham is worlds away from Ted Lasso in ITVX’s period drama Tom Jones

She has wowed fans as the presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest.

But Hannah Waddingham is worlds away from the Liverpool stage as she transforms into a historical seductress for her ITVX series Tom Jones.

New behind-the-scenes footage from the miniseries shows the Ted Lasso star, 48, in a gorgeous period gown and extravagant wig as she takes on the role of Lady Ballaston.

Tom Jones, available now on ITVX, stars Hannah as Sophia’s scheming aunt who is determined to end her relationship with Tom, a young man who has struggled to escape his humble status after being placed in the caretaker as a baby. was abandoned.

Hannah says, “I’d always wanted to do a period drama, but you know, six foot high heels isn’t something that ever crossed my path!”

Wow! New behind-the-scenes footage from the miniseries shows the Ted Lasso star, 48, in a gorgeous period gown and an extravagant wig as she takes on the role of Lady Ballaston

‘Oh my God, Lady Bellaston! … she is such an over the top creation with this horrifically sybaritic lifestyle of debauchery. That’s brilliant.’

The series focuses on young Tom, a man who was abandoned as a baby, but rescued and raised by a landlord, Squire Allworthy.

He becomes a charming and friendly man who is popular with the ladies and falls in love with the wealthy heiress Sophie.

But Tom cannot escape the status given to him by his low birth, and Lady Ballaston is determined to end their romance.

While Hannah is best known for her role as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso, viewers this week are praising her stint as the host of the Eurovision Song Contest.

In Tuesday’s semi-final, Hannah was named the standout host of Tuesday’s show, as she delighted fans with her wit and hidden talents.

She left viewers in hysterics when she made a brutal dig at Amanda Holden – who awarded points on behalf of the United Kingdom at the 2021 ceremony.

Amanda came under fire at the time for making an awkward joke while presenting. jokingly she didn’t know the difference between French and Dutch, with shocked viewers labeling her as ‘arrogant’.

Drama! Tom Jones, available now on ITVX, stars Hannah as Sophia’s scheming aunt who is determined to end her relationship with Tom.

Being in the center of the attention! Hannah says, “I’ve always wanted to do a period drama, but you know, almost six foot heels isn’t something that ever crossed my path!”

Hannah appeared to refer to the blunder as she took on presentation duties and explained the voting rules for the semi-final in perfect French before emphatically saying, “You see Europe, some of us Brits do take the trouble to learn another language.” to learn.’

Viewers quickly picked up on the light, writing on Twitter: ”Hannah Waddingham throws Amanda Holden under Le bus, quality shadow #Eurovision’;

Hannah Waddingham’s French somewhat makes up for Amanda Holden’s existence. Great start Liverpool. #Eurovision2023′; HANNAH WADDINGHAM SHADOWS AMANDA HOLDEN

‘Hannah Waddingham is already throwing shade at Amanda Holden?! I love her so much!!!! #Eurovision’; “I still laugh at Hannah throwing Amanda Holden under the bus. #Eurovision #Eurovision2023′; “Hannah shadows Amanda Holden, you like to see it #songfestival.”

Not only did Hannah devastate fans with her comments, but also left viewers in awe with her incredible singing voice.

The West End star was taught how to ‘rock’ by co-host Julia and let loose with a perfectly tuned high note while pretending to play air guitar.

The moment set Twitter on fire, with fans tweeting, “Hannah Waddingham shows off not only her insane air guitar skills, but also her unreal singing voice”;

‘Hannah Waddingham casually singing all the real Eurovision contestants by hitting that high note is such a sexy flex #Eurovision2023’; ‘This is Hannah Waddingham’s world right now and we’re just living in #Eurovision’;

‘This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is all about Hannah Waddingham!’; Hannah Waddingham is the perfect Eurovision presenter. Classy, ​​funny and completely in the spirit of the event.’

On Tuesday evening, 15 countries performed at the M&S Bank arena in part one of two semi-finals for a chance to qualify for Saturday’s grand final.

Ten acts made it with the Finnish favorite Kaarija and the Swedish former winner Loreen, who triumphed in 2012 with her hit Euphoria, also secured a place.

However, there was heartbreak for Ireland, Malta, Latvia, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan who were out of the running for Eurovision 2023.

The stadium was lit up by a series of wacky, moving and colorful acts, as King Charles, Queen Camilla and the late Paul O’Grady starred in an opening video to kick off the show.

The 10 acts that made it were; Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Norway.

In a rule change this year, the decision on who advances is entirely up to the public, with national juries having their say during Saturday’s final.

Icon: Hannah was labeled as the standout presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest semifinal as she delighted fans with her humor and hidden talents

31 countries will compete in two semi-finals, 10 of which will advance to the grand final.

Last year’s winner, Ukraine, automatically advanced to the grand final, along with the big five, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest take place over two days and feature a range of performances, including from Eurovision legends and Ukrainian and British stars.

For the first time in the history of the British Eurovision Song Contest, both semifinals will be presented live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Radio DJs Scott Mills and Rylan will provide the UK audience with their colorful commentary, while Alesha, Julia and Hannah host the semi-final at the M&S Bank Arena.

The next semi-final will take place on Thursday (May 11) before the Grand Final on Saturday (May 13). Tom Jones is now streaming on ITVX.