'Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham saved my life - I was in so much pain I didn't want to go on'

Best friends Hannah Waddingham and Sadie Nine have made some incredible memories over the years. From attending red carpet events together to dancing the night away with Ronnie Wood and hanging out with Paul McCartney and George Clooney, the Emmy award-winning Ted Lasso star and her pal are as close as sisters.

But for Sadie, 66, it is not the showbiz glamour she values, but the fact that, at her lowest ebb, Hannah was there to help her through it all. Sadie explains: “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with health issues and Hannah has stood by me through thick and thin. She’s the one who’s pulled me through.

“There was one night when I was in so much pain I didn’t want to go on. I thought, ‘I can’t do this any more’ but Hannah was on the phone the whole night with me. She made me laugh and pulled me round. She saved my life that night.”

And they are shoulder to shoulder again as Sadie, herself an actress, singer and presenter, is battling blood cancer. With her bestie by her side, she is determined to face things head-on and raise both cash and awareness of the disease. The pair have joined forces to help secure £1milllion for Blood Cancer UK through the latest Omaze House Draw.

As Hannah, 52, explains: “When someone you love is living with blood cancer, you quickly realise just how important research is. My beloved friend Sadie, who’s like a sister to me, is living with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. Like so many others, she’s hoping for better treatment options and, ultimately, a cure in the future. That’s why I’m so proud to support this campaign. Every entry into the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Yorkshire, is helping fund pioneering clinical trials to beat some of the deadliest blood cancers and give more families hope. To everyone who’s chosen to be part of something truly life-changing, I can’t thank you enough.”

Sadie, who has been a BBC Essex presenter for two decades, says there was no hesitation from Hannah when she asked if she would front the campaign. “She just said, ‘Of course.’ That’s the sort of mate she is.” The pair met in 1999, when rehearsing for West End musical Lautrec. Sadie, who started singing aged three, remembers them getting on really well from the start.

She recalls: “Hannah sang a song called Questions and I got goosebumps. I loved her voice and she loved mine. We just clicked. We’re very similar in terms of outlook and the way we were brought up. She’s very down to earth. I respected the way she worked too, but she was also great fun. This can be a tough business to be in, but I knew I could trust her.”

The women later shared a flat in Plymouth, Devon, with a landlord who told them he was not keen on turning the heating up to keep the place warm. Sadie says: “Hannah and I just exchanged glances and that was it. I knew we’d be friends. We would go out for dinner and talk non-stop.”

In the intervening years, Sadie has presented BBC One’s Inside Out, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and toured her own stage show. And she’s been Hannah’s biggest cheerleader, as her career took her from starring on the West End stage to TV roles in Game of Thrones, Benidorm and Sex Education. Sadie says: “I knew she would make it. She’s a brilliant comic actress and has forged the way for musical theatre artists to be taken seriously.”

In 2021, Hannah and co-star Brett Goldstein won Primetime Emmys for Ted Lasso and she mentioned her best mate in her acceptance speech. Sadie recalls: “She was there in this stunning pink dress and just said, ‘I wouldn’t be here without my friend, Sadie.’ It was a lovely thing to do. I am so proud of her.”

Another highlight the pair shared was when Hannah co-hosted the Eurovision in the UK in 2023. She says: “I’m a huge Eurovision fan so it was amazing to be invited along. “I went to the aftershow party and hung out with celebrities backstage. Hannah took me to see Paul McCartney perform and introduced me to everyone from Judi Dench to George Clooney. I was the only one in the room I hadn’t heard of!”

Over the years, each woman has leaned on the other for support and never more so than when Sadie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and again in 2013. She had a lumpectomy and then a mastectomy. In 2019, she also ruptured her spleen in a fall. Sadie says: “We’ve always been there for each other. Hannah supported me through my cancer and when I damaged my spleen she was incredible. I was working for the BBC at the Tower of London and, with my hands full of my microphone and handbag, fell over on to cobbles. I’d never known pain like it. Initially, I was told it was just my ribs and was on the point of calling a taxi home from hospital, but my intuition told me it was something else.

“In the end, I was in hospital for a month and there was a point I didn’t want to go on any more, I didn’t know how to get through. But Hannah was on FaceTime with me all night and because I had a mask on, she put a pair of knickers on her face as well, to show solidarity. It made me laugh in spite of it all. She’s my rock.”

It was eight years ago when, having complained of tiredness, a routine blood test led to Sadie’s diagnosis of multiple malignant myeloma, a type of blood cancer. She says: “I’d never heard of it. When they said the words, I thought it was actually skin cancer but it affects 40,000 people in this country; that’s why raising awareness is so important. When I had the mastectomy, I remember the nurse saying, ‘In two hours’ time you won’t have cancer any more’ and I clung to those words. But it’s different with blood cancer. I remember asking, ‘What treatment will I have?’ But it’s a case of monitoring me closely with regular blood tests and scans.

“When I got the diagnosis I called Hannah. She came straight over and said she would do whatever she could to help. All three of my cancers were picked up early. I survived a shattered spleen. I have an amazing family and a brilliant husband. I know people say, ‘God, you’ve been through it’ but I am still here. And I have my best friend. We roar laughing when we’re together. It really is the best medicine. I just wish everyone had a Hannah in their life.”

BLOOD CANCER

SADIE and Hannah are supporting Blood Cancer UK and its latest Omaze prize draw, which is giving away a spectacular £4million home in Yorkshire plus £250,000 in cash. And £1m of the money made from entries will help fund ground-breaking clinical trials into the disease, the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

Helen Rowntree, chief executive at Blood Cancer UK, says: “Every day, we hear from people about the devastating impact a blood cancer diagnosis can have. Sadie has spoken about how her friendship with Hannah has been a huge source of support. We want to make sure everyone affected by blood cancer has the support they need.”