The Dumfries hooker has seized his chance in style, stepping into the No 2 shirt and making it his own. With Fraser Brown and George Turner gone, and Johnny Matthews sidelined for much of the campaign, Hiddleston has become Franco Smith's main man - and delivered when it matters.
Glasgow are thriving in both the United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup, and Hiddleston has been at the heart of it. His eight tries in 14 appearances put him ahead of Jamie Dobie (seven), George Horne and Kyle Steyn (six apiece), and Kyle Rowe (four).
More impressively, he's doing it on the big stage. Tries against Sale, Toulouse, Edinburgh and most recently Leinster underline his knack for stepping up in key moments - often finishing from Glasgow's dominant driving maul.
So did that scoring streak earn him a few bonuses in his new two-year deal?
"No, I need to speak to [Warriors MD] Kenny Brown about that!" said Hiddleston. "The driving maul is going so well at Glasgow and you've seen that at the weekend. Even though Leinster were down a few players we just stayed consistent with that and that's something we've been working hard with all season."
Staying put was a no-brainer for the in-form forward. "I'm absolutely delighted to be staying at the club. It's definitely exciting times here, considering where we are in the URC table and Champions Cup as well, and after the performance on the weekend, so yeah, I'm absolutely delighted to be staying."
There was frustration, though, when he was initially overlooked for Gregor Townsend's Six Nations squad despite his form. A late call-up followed ahead of the Italy opener, but Hiddleston didn’t get on the pitch as Townsend stuck with Ewan Ashman, Turner and Dave Cherry.
Still, the experience left its mark. "Yeah, obviously it was frustrating [not to play] but I got a late call-up having been initially told I was going to be playing the Scotland A game so that was still a bonus and that was an opportunity to take and show to Scotland coaches that I want to be in there.
"I absolutely love working with the coaches in the different environment. It was pretty much the same players because they're all from Glasgow just about. But yeah, it was really enjoyable being 24th man and going to all the big games and things. So it's a good experience.
"Gregor's really good, a really positive guy. Approachable. He picks up on one or two little things but the main thing is he's really positive. You want to make sure when you go into training you want to work as hard as you can and try to help the boys that are playing the best I can."
A first Scotland cap could still come this summer, but for now Hiddleston's focus is locked on finishing the season strongly with Glasgow, starting with Benetton on Friday night.
"That's the main thing now: the Scotland hat's off and the Glasgow hat's back on," he said. "It's just important taking one game at a time here at Glasgow and trying to keep the same form as the whole team really.
"Now they're all out of that environment and back in here at Glasgow. You look at those European Cup games, the Saracens, the Toulouse games. We need to get that form back and fast leading up to the end of the season."