Hannah Waddingham best act of the night at Royal Variety Performance

The annual Royal Variety Performance was broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday (December 17) night having been filmed on November 30 at the Royal Albert Hall.

The event was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, and was hosted by The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh who took over from Lee Mack. 

And now, in their 100th year, a celebration of everything @Disney. With 24 produced or licensed shows, a Disney musical is being performed somewhere on the planet virtually every hour of the day! We're pleased to see a medley of their work @RoyalAlbertHall tonight. pic.twitter.com/N5Gk6XphoD

— Royal Variety (@RoyalVariety) December 17, 2023

Acts during the night included Paloma Faith, McFly, Rick Astley, Britain's Got Talent winner Viggo Venn and pop sensation Zara Larsson.

Viewers were also treated to an exclusive first-look at the new production of 'Sister Act', a comedy routine from Tom Allen and a medley celebrating 100 years of Disney.

Cher was also due to appear at the Royal Variety Performance having also sung at the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday (December 16) night.

Hannah Waddingham "best act of the night" at Royal Variety Performance

But it was Waddingham who was labelled the "best act of the night" by viewers.

OK can we all just agree that @hanwaddingham is the world's greatest human? #RoyalVarietyPerformance pic.twitter.com/jhNEcFUwBr

— ITV (@ITV) December 17, 2023

The British actor and singer - who has appeared in shows including Sex Education and Ted Lasso - took to the Royal Albert Hall stage in a stunning golden dress and sang a rendition of 'O Holy Night'. 

ITV posted on X (formerly Twitter) following her performance saying: "OK can we all just agree that @hanwaddingham is the world's greatest human?"

Viewers watching the Royal Variety Performance on TV took to social media to share just how amazing they thought Waddingham was.

🎥: hannah waddingham performing ‘o holy night’ with the @E_N_O chorus during the royal variety performance pic.twitter.com/c4FmYrpdzk

— best of hannah waddingham (@ofwaddingham) December 17, 2023

One person on X said: "Genuinely. They should have just let Hannah Waddingham do the entire show."

Another commented: "Wow! Best act of the night! Hannah Waddingham. Amazing."

A third user added: "Let’s be clear I’m watching the royal variety performance for one reason and one reason only and that is to see Hannah Waddingham perform this song."