Ted Lasso spoilers follow.
With the third (and rumoured final) instalment of the Apple TV+ sports comedy-drama well underway, Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed has opened up about his character Nate Shelley's villain arc.
In season 1 of the show, which sees Jason Sudeikis take on the titular role of an American football coach who becomes a Premier League manager, Ted supports Nate's ideas and gives him the confidence to be promoted from kit man to assistant coach.
But by the end of season 2, Nate has turned his back on Ted, his team and his friends. He's left AFC Richmond to become the new head coach of West Ham United, the club owned by Rebecca's (Hannah Waddingham) ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head).
Related: How to buy Ted Lasso season 3's official AFC Richmond jersey with Nike
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Mohammed described the 'visceral' reaction fans had to Nate's storyline. He said that viewers took his character's betrayal personally — and he understands why.
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"It was quite visceral. People took it to heart," he said.
"I think season one was a classic Ted Lasso thing in that Ted interacts with Nate, empowers him. Nate is filled with confidence and gets promoted, and it's a classic underdog story. It really works.
"And we could all hook into that, I think, as an audience, and we were really rooting for Nate."
Related: Ted Lasso season 3 star Nick Mohammed reveals who turned down roles on the show
Mohammed continued, noting that season-one Nate and season-two Nate feel almost like two different people.
"Such that, you skip one season ahead at the end of season two, for him to then backstab Ted in the way that he does, it just feels like such a huge fall from grace given that we're rooting for this guy right from the start," he said.
The actor added that fans themselves felt betrayed following the completion of Nate's villain arc at the end of season two, and he doesn't blame them for having that reaction.
"People were really pissed off. Occasionally people forget that it's an acting role and not real life. A handful, but enough for it to be like, 'Come on, guys. It's fiction,'" he said.
"But, they're right. It's correct, that they're feeling bad and betrayed because that's what Nate has done."
Ted Lasso season 3 streams on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
