Hannah Waddingham has undergone one of the most striking character transformations in recent television history. While audiences currently recognize her as the powerhouse Rebecca Welton in Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso, her earlier work in HBO's Game of Thrones featured a far more sinister persona.
The radical pivot from Septa Unella to Rebecca Welton
Hannah Waddingham's career trajectory highlights the immense range required to navigate the landscape of modern prestige drama. As reported by Eammon Parks Jacobs, Waddingham's portrayal of the religious zealot Septa Unella in Seasons 5 and 6 of Game of Thrones remains a standout example of her ability to play intense, unsettling characters. In the world of King's Landing, her character served as a psychological tormentor to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), famously shouting "Shame!" during public humiliations.
The character of Rebecca Welton in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso offers a complete tonal departure from Waddingham's earlier work. In Ted Lasso, which began during the 2020 pandemic and is now entering its fourth season, Waddingham plays a club owner in London who evolevs from a woman driven by spite for her ex-husband into a respected and beloved businesswoman. This shift from a cruel religious extremist to a symbol of resilience and warmth marks a significant professional evolution.
A last-minute shift from sexual assault to wine waterboarding
The production of Game of Thrones involved significant last-minute script changes that altered the fate of Waddingham's character. according to the report, the scene in which Septa Unella meets her end at the hands of the undead Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) was originally intended to be much more graphic.. Waddingham told Collider that the character was initially meant to be sexually assaulted by The Mountain.
Waddingham's account of the production highlights the confusion often found on high-stakes television sets. She noted that while traveling to the set in Belfast, she was instructed to wear a wetsuit for the dungeon scene. Upon arrival, she discovered the writers had pivoted the scene to waterboarding the character with wine instead. This change was reportedly made in response to the intense public backlash following the assault of Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) by Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) in an earlier season.
What the unseen brutality of The Mountain implies
The decision to leave the specifics of Unella's torture to the audience's imagination leaves several questions regarding the original creative intent. While the showrunners successfully avoided a repeat of the controversy surrounding the Ramsay Bolton storyline,it remains unclear how much of the original, more visceral script was actually considered by the production team before the final pivot. Furthermore, because the source relies on Waddingham's personal recollection, the exact internal discussions at HBO regarding these creative shifts remain unverified.
How the Sansa Stark controversy changed the script
HBO's handling of Septa Unella's death reflects a broader industry-wide sensitivity to the depiction of sexual violence in prestige media. The backlash to the Season 5 treatment of Sansa Stark forced a reassessment of how much trauma the audience should be required to witness. By opting for the "wine waterboarding" method, the creators managed to maintain the character's dark end without crossing the same controversial lines that had previously sparked widespread criticism.
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