Last year’s Hallmark Christmas Cruise was brimming with festive cheer and laughter, thanks in part to Ashley Williams. Fans of the Christmas at Sea series witnessed her comedic flair in full display during the latest episode.
In the second episode of the Hallmark+ docuseries, dubbed “Shining Stars,” Williams delighted viewers by portraying an enthusiastic Andrew Walker admirer aboard the beloved holiday cruise. She took on the persona of Aunt Diana—a vivid character inspired by her own aunt, known for being both a fervent Hallmark fan and openly critical. Disguised in a blonde wig and faux nose, Williams aimed to blend in with the throng of devoted fans who might have easily recognized her without the camouflage.
While this playful tribute was deemed a “love letter” to her aunt, Williams assured it bore no physical resemblance to her. The star of Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater revealed that this prank had been simmering since Hallmark branched into unscripted shows. She initially proposed the idea as a standalone series, among a slew of other creative concepts for unscripted programming.
“I pitched a bunch of ideas, like starting a honey farm with Andrew Walker on my property,” she reminisced. Although none of these show ideas have debuted yet, Williams elaborated on others, such as a blooper show she would host, reminiscent of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Another idea involved her and friend Paul Campbell dressing up as Hallmark fans on the cruise to immerse themselves in the fan experience, culminating in a surprise reveal similar to Adele’s famous stunt at a look-alike contest.
However, it wasn’t until right before last year’s Hallmark Christmas Cruise that she received an unexpected call from the decision-maker she had pitched her creative ideas to.
“He said, ‘What if we do a little mini version of that this year on the cruise? What if we had you dress up like a fan and see if we can trick your colleagues at Hallmark?’” she shared. “So I got to do that this year, which was a hoot!”
As part of the bit, Williams crashed a group of fans’ photoshoot, where, in her own words, she “came in like a total weirdo and sat there, strangely, watching them.”
Like her character Aunt Diana, the group of fans were especially enamored with Walker, who ultimately showed up to the photoshoot—and didn’t recognize Williams in her disguise. Williams (as Aunt Diana) proceeded to fawn over Walker, until she eventually pulled off her wig and revealed her true identity, leaving Walker doubled over in laughter and shock.
Williams told us that she was “so glad” she picked her Jingle Bell Run co-star to fool as opposed to “somebody like Nikki DeLoach,” who she’s known since they were in their early 20s.
“She would be on to me immediately,” she added. “But Andrew Walker, we call him the golden retriever, just so happy to be there and like, ‘Oh nice to meet you!’ When I came up to him as his number one fan and started hysterically crying and screaming, ‘He smells like celery!’ He just thought, ‘Oh, this is a lovely, passionate woman.’ It wasn’t until I ripped my nose off that he actually knew it was me, which makes me so proud.”
Over the course of her career, Williams said she has met “all kinds of fans,” though Hallmark fans stand out in a way that is close to her heart.
“Like, I’ll meet a Hallmark fan on the street and realize that they’re Hallmark people and fall into their arms and we talk for 20 minutes,” she gushed. “I can tell them personal stories, personal stories of grief, or of joy, or of triumph, and they all feel like my Aunt Diana. So, getting to kind of walk around and pretend that I was one of Andrew Walker’s number one fan, it was so much fun.”
The next episode of Christmas at Sea Season 2 streams Wednesday on Hallmark+.