Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) had a history of using awful accents over the course of How I Met Your Mother. The character, played by Alyson Hannigan, was one of the core figures on the sitcom for the duration of its nine seasons. Not only was she a best friend of Ted Mosby, but she also served as one-half of the show's longest-running couple. Lily's relationship with Marshall Eriksen eventually blossomed into marriage before the pair started a family. Despite the big milestones featured on the show, Lily participated in the gang's constant shenanigans.
Lily, who was a confirmed distant relative of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, first met Ted and Marshall while the trio attended Wesleyan University. The group remained close, relocating to New York City where they shared an apartment together. Though she quickly became a close friend of Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky, Lily was known to be the manipulator of the group. She also had a lot of quirks, including her thirst for justice, which was referenced as "Aldrin Justice" in the series. In addition, Lily was known for not being able to keep a secret among Marshall and the friend group.
Lily's hilariously bad accents were another one of the character's most memorable quirks in How I Met Your Mother. The series made it an effort to point out Lily's use of accents in the season 4 episode "Intervention." In the episode, the gang reminisced about all the times that they used the intervention banner on one another. At one point, Lily watched a bunch of James Bond movies, which gave her the inspiration to start using a British accent. Her friends weren't a fan of the fake accent, resulting in an intervention to which Lily responded with "oh, bollocks." The accents then became a long-term joke in connection to Lily.
Lily's Accents Became A Running Gag On HIMYM
Lily brought back her awful British accent in season 5's "Robots Versus Wrestlers." Aside from the British accent, Lily was linked to a Slavic accent in connection to her doppelganger, Stripper Lily. Discovered in "Double Date," the doppelganger named Jasmine was found to be working in a nearby strip club called the Lusty Leopard. She was known for her broken English and the habit of always smoking a cigarette. For a brief time, Lily actually switched places with her doppelganger to perform onstage. The recurring appearance of Jasmine enhanced the running gag of the figure's terrible accents.
Interestingly enough, Hannigan is married to Alexis Denisof, who appeared in How I Met Your Mother as Sandy Rivers. Before that, the pair worked together on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Denisof portrayed Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, a figure that also starred in the Buffy spinoff, Angel. The actor was known for having an impressive English accent while portraying Wesley despite spending most of his life in the United States. Hannigan's attempt the accents could be poking fun at her inability to get on her husband's level when it comes to voice work.