Hannah Waddingham had to usher Idris Elba out of her seat in a hilarious opening segment at the SAG Awards 2024 on Saturday.
The actress, 49, had opened the annual awards do live on Netflix and made her way through the audience as she delivered a piece to camera – but stopped at her table to hand the hosting duties over to fellow star Idris, 51.
The Ted Lasso star joked that she felt a little bit ’embarrassed’ but needed the Luther star to move so she could join her castmates.
She said: ‘It’s a little bit embarrassing, mate, that’s my seat. That’s my seat. Awkward’.
Idris jokingly replied ‘What show is this again?’
Hannah Waddingham had to usher Idris Elba out of her seat in a hilarious opening segment at the SAG Awards 2024 on Saturday
The joke was done as part of an opening skit at the start of the glitzy awards ceremony
Hannah had been nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as Rebecca Welton in the football-themed comedy.
But, prior to finding global fame on the hit Apple+ show, Hannah was a successful West End actress with roles in shows such as Into the Woods and The Wizard of Oz.
Just prior to taking her seat at the glitzy awards do, the former Game of Thrones actress recalled a time when she was working in theatre when a mouse lived and died in her costume.
She said: ‘When I originated the role of The Lady of the Lake in the West End production of Monty Python’s Spamalot, I had a 47-second quick change under the stage to come back up through the floor holding the Holy Grail, as you do.
‘I was getting ready to sing into the face of the legendary and very fabulous Tim Curry.
‘As I was rising up I felt a kind of muscle spasm at the top of my dress but I didn’t think anything more of it.
‘The following night, this is after a matinee and evening show, I went to take off my costume but I’d noticed all day there was a rather embarrassing acrid stench around me.
‘I went to air the dress and a mouse flew out of the dress, smacked on the wall and landed on the floor.’
The pair were opening the show as it streamed live on Netflix and Idris quickly began to walk to the stage telling a story from his early career
The Ted Lasso star, 49, has found worldwide fame thanks to her role in the hit Apple+ series but initially made her name in theatre
Hannah joked about the ‘glamour’ of working in a West End theatre as she concluded that she had spent several hours on stage with the dead rodent.
‘So that’s one show with a live mouse in my dress and two shows with it dead.
‘Oh, the glamour!’
Idris then took over duties and regaled the audience with a humorous tale about starting out in his career before accidentally shocking viewers by accidentally dropping the F-bomb live on air.