Ant and Dec, Paddington and Nigella all congratulate ‘fabulous’ Lionesses

The England team’s impressive performance caught the attention of a number of well-known faces in the UK.

Paddington was among a host of famous faces to congratulate the England women’s team (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

Paddington Bear was among the celebrities who recognised England’s achievement of reaching their first ever World Cup final on Wednesday.

Sarina Wiegman’s side ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, as hosts Australia were made to settle for a third-place play-off.

The Lionesses’ impressive performance caught the eye of a number of well-known faces in the UK, including one of its most famous bears.

Paddington tweeted: “The cheers in Windsor Gardens are so loud, Mr Brown says he’s sure the @Lionesses will hear them all the way from Australia.”

Businessman Sir Richard Branson posted: “Congratulations @Lionesses. We’ll be cheering you on in the final.”

Meanwhile, TV chef Nigella Lawson wrote “Congratulations #Lionesses and commiserations to my Australian friends!” and presenter Fern Britton posted “Fabulous! @Lionesses just wonderful”.

Presenting duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – who have spent time in Australia with I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! – were quick to share their thoughts as well.

“Wow #Lionesses. You are incredible! Come on England!” they tweeted.

Comedians Omid Djalili and Mark Watson also took to Twitter, now known as X, to share their delight.

“England make the women’s World Cup final,” wrote Djalili. “Prediction: Lauren James to come back and win it.”

Meanwhile, Watson described the performance as “pretty much faultless”, writing: “Especially when you think how early they had to get up. Can’t wait for Sunday.”

And Australian comedian Adam Hills, host of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, summed the game and the tournament up with praise for both sides.

“Well played Matildas. You did Australia proud. Well played Lionesses. You did England proud,” he wrote.