The internet has actor Hannah Waddingham’s back after she took snappy aim at a photographer who made a sexist suggestion to her on the red carpet.

Waddingham has become a beloved household name in recent years, thanks to her iconic role on Ted Lasso and as host of the Eurovision Song Contest.

She also enjoyed a successful stage career, so it wasn’t surprising that Waddingham hosted theatre’s prestigious Olivier Awards in London at the weekend.

So it was that, while she was posing for photos ahead of the ceremony, one brazen photographer, reportedly a male, yelled out for Waddingham to “show a little leg”.

In a video of the interaction, the request can’t be heard, but Waddingham’s response is loud and clear.

“Oh my God, you’d never say that to a man, my friend,” she said, rather gently.

“Don’t be a dick, otherwise I’ll move off. Don’t say ‘show a little leg’. No.”

Waddingham did actually move on, as bystanders cheered.

“Have some manners,” she tossed back as she left.

And the support for her sharp reaction has kept coming. There has been widespread disdain online for the photographer and backing for Waddingham.

“Male photographer at Olivier Awards asking Hannah Waddingham to “show leg” is lecherous stuff,” British domestic abuse campaigner and survivor David Challen wrote on X.

“Men like this need their passes for these events to revoked. Women are not your objects to objectify and command to move as you see fit.”

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BBC1 radio presenter Dean McCullough was also unimpressed.

“Yeah, so what were not gonna do is ask women like Hannah Waddingham to get their legs out for pictures… It’s 2024, grow up slimey old pap man. X,” he tweeted.

One person said Waddingham was a “role model” as she always calls “pricks out on their bull—t”.

“If I was a professional photographer and Hannah Waddingham had just gracefully schooled me on how to behave with respect in front of everyone, I’d change careers, name and leave the country,” wrote another X user.

When she took the stage at the Olivier Awards, Waddingham reminded everyone exactly why she is so adored in the first place.

She had a slight slip up and instead of trying to quickly move on, as many hosts might, she leaned into it.

“Blargh! F–k it, I knew I’d get it wrong,” she said, before squatting down on the stage as the crowd started applauding.

“Don’t clap!”