How tall is Hannah Waddingham? Marks and Spencer Christmas advert actor’s height and how she compares

Eurovision host Hannah Waddingham is back on our screens as the star of Marks & Spencer's Christmas advert.

Audiences were left awed by the "gloriously" tall actor and presenter earlier in 2023. Having played a key role in the Eurovision Song Contest, she is back in one of the earlier festive campaigns.

The star who picked up an Emmy in 2021 for her role in Apple TV's Ted Lasso series, was joined by Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina during BBC's coverage of Eurovision.

Hannah Waddingham's height caught the attention of watchers earlier in, but do you know how tall she actually is? The actor is among the tallest cast members on Ted Lasso as well as Eurovision.

Here is her height explained and how she compares to other famously tall celebrities - and the tallest people of all time.

How tall is Hannah Waddingham? 

The actress and Eurovision host stands at 5 foot 11 in height (1.80m). However, that is without heels and when she is on stage for the competition she is even taller. 

When wearing high heels, Hannah Waddingham is over 6ft tall. 

How does Hannah Waddington’s height compare? 

The Ted Lasso actor was taller than her fellow Eurovision hosts with Alesha Dixon standing at 5 foot 7 and a half inches (1.69m), Julia Sanina being 5ft 4in (1.64m) and Graham Norton who is 5ft 8in (1.73m). 

But how does Hannah Waddingham compare to other famously tall people? She is 5ft 11in (1.80m) and while that is taller than many, she pales in comparison to other giant celebrities. 

Famously gangly footballer Peter Crouch is 6 foot 6 (2.01m), making him significantly taller than the actor - at least when she is out of heels. She might catch up a bit with the extra three/ four inches. 

But when you compare her to true giants like NBA legend Shaquelle O’Neil who stands at a staggering 7 foot 1 (2.16m), she positively pales in comparison - although the vast majority of people on the planet would look short when standing next to Shaq. 

However if Shaq had ever been side by side with the French wrestler André René Roussimoff, better known as Andre the Giant, he would have looked like the small one. The Frenchman stood at a staggering 7 foot 3 (2.24m). 

The giant nickname certainly was fitting. 

Who is the tallest person in history?

Hannah Waddingham's height is certainly impressive and helps to make her stand out. But when compared to giants like Shaq and Andre the Giant, she seems almost average height.

However even those two famously tall celebrities pale in comparison to the tallest verified human in recorded history. Robert Wadlow, an American who lived between 1918 and 1940, was a jawdropping 8ft 11in (2.72m) - making him almost two feet taller than Shaq and Andre the Giant.

The tallest woman is Zeng Jinlian who lived in China from 1964 to 1982 and was verified as being 8ft 1in tall (2.48m) - which is more than two feet taller than Hannah Waddingham. She is the only verified woman to have reached 8ft, but there are claims that Trijntje Keever (1616-1633) and Ella Ewing (1872-1913) were both over 8ft 4in tall - however both cases are disputed and unverified.