I never play sexy, that scares me, says Strictly’s Sarah Hadland as she opens up about ‘liberating’ dances with Vito
STRICTLY judge Anton Du Beke told Sarah Hadland she has the best legs on the show – which is high praise when your rivals are a TV Gladiator and a Love Islander.
Those perfect pins have so far seen Sarah produce some of the most sensational routines of the series, notching up half a dozen tens from the judges and regularly topping the leaderboard.
But try telling the Miranda star she is actually sexy and showing super sass on a Saturday night and she will just laugh.
The 53-year-old reckons it is all an act inspired by her hunky professional partner, reigning Strictly champ Vito Coppola.
Sarah — whose competition for the Glitterball includes Montell Douglas, aka Gladiator Fire, and Tasha Ghouri, who was on Love Island in 2022 — said: “I don’t see any sex or sass!
“I don’t play parts like that, so this is so far out of my comfort zone of being very smiley and up.
“I just don’t feel sexy.
“I don’t look at myself that way.
“I’m quite theatrical anyway, so I love a bit of drama.
“I love playing different characters, but I never really play anybody vampy or, am I allowed to say, sexy?
“I’m quite scared about doing that.
“I think Vito’s been really good at helping me access the dance through the character, and the acting, because I feel more confident doing that.”
Revealing that her Strictly experience has been “liberating”, she added: “This feels like every week there’s a completely different feeling with each piece of music.
‘Mental battle’
“And what I’m really learning from Vito is that there’s other ways of acting, too. You can act with your body.
“I’m familiar with slapstick — very comfortable with that, I know what to do.
“But with this Latin and ballroom, when it’s sensual, it’s a different kind of skill to use your body to convey something.
“Strictly is so liberating, you’re getting to dance with somebody who’s at the top of what they do.
“You know, Vito’s amazing. He’s brilliant.
“Most people won’t ever have this opportunity to feel what it’s like to dance with somebody who is so good.
“There’s something freeing and exciting about that, all wrapped into one.”
In Blackpool last weekend, Sarah and Vito scored an impressive 39 points for their Couple’s Choice routine to Kylie’s hit Padam Padam.
She won high praise from the judges, with Craig Revel Horwood even confessing he thought it was “too perfect”.
But it’s not just the judges Sarah is hoping to win over.
She says she understands that many women in their fifties watching at home might have reached a time in their life when they start to feel invisible.
Sarah, who is the oldest remaining celeb on the show, refuses to dull her own sparkle — and hopes viewers will follow in her footsteps.
“I just have no time for it whatsoever,” Sarah said firmly.
I love playing different characters, but I never really play anybody vampy or, am I allowed to say, sexy? I’m quite scared about doing that
Sarah Hadland
“I’m going to do everything I want to do, until I can’t.
“If I can inspire people to do something they don’t feel confident in, that would be amazing.”
Sarah was born in St Albans, Herts, but went to school in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where she got interested in ameteur dramatics and later trained at Laine Theatre Arts College in Surrey.
At 19, she started her stage career in shows including Grease and Cats in London’s West End.
She also appeared in serious stage plays, and even shampoo ads and video games.
But mum-of-one Sarah shot to fame playing Miranda Hart’s best pal in the BBC sitcom Miranda which ran from 2009 to 2015.
While she might be trying to motivate other women in their fifties, she is the first to admit her journey on the show has not been an easy one.
Despite her upbeat personality, Sarah has found the gruelling training schedule an emotional minefield.
She explained: “Every week, when you start the dance, your confidence goes through the floor because you think, ‘I literally don’t know what you’re talking about’.
“Your mind’s really cruel.
“It tells you you can’t do it, you’re going to mess it up, you’re no good at this.
“I don’t know if other people find this, but as you get older, you have huge experience in your normal job.
“So, as an actor, I’m pretty confident, whatever happens, I can get out of it because I’ve got 30-odd years of experience.
“If I mess up on camera or on stage, I know how to fix it, and I know I will fix it innately.
“I don’t even need to think.
“I can’t do that with this, because I haven’t got any other steps except what Vito’s taught me.
“So it’s not like I can go, ‘I’ll do a pivot’.
“That’s really exposing, in a way.
“That’s the mental battle.”
Thankfully for Sarah, she has a comedy favourite in her corner supporting her every step of the way.
Her best pal Miranda Hart, 51, has not only been visiting her in training, but regularly sending her videos to boost her confidence.
Sarah said: “She’s a massive Strictly fan, as am I.
“We have a Strictly support group.
“We watch the final every year at her house.
“It’s quite surreal, I think, for both of us that I’m actually on the show.
“She feels really weird that I’m in it.
“Every week, she does a little video.
“She actually gives Vito some tips!
“So I think she’s absolutely loving it and she said it’s made her love the show even more because she feels like she’s living it through me, because she knows me so well and she knows the show so well now.
“So that’s really lovely.”
That will be music to the ears of Strictly’s top brass, who will be hoping they might convince Miranda to slip into something slinky and join the line-up in future.
‘Careering around’
So, does Sarah think her mate might hot foot it on to the dance floor?
She said: “First we need to get her down to the live show.
“Hopefully she’s coming to watch us at some point, and maybe then she’ll decide if she wants to do it next.”
This weekend, Sarah and Vito will do the rumba to Chains by Tina Arena in their tenth dance.
After weeks sweating it out in training, Sarah says she has seen a change in her body — but she reckons she is undoing all her hard work because she can’t stop “eating like a horse”.
Of her fitness, Sarah, who runs marathons, explained: “You feel super-fit doing this.
“But my God, my little ugly trotters!
“My feet are like misshaped sausage meat, my toes have moulded into one.
“I remove my shoes on a Saturday night and there’s a little bit of shoe dye on them, and my toes are hanging on to one another going, ‘Please, no more.’ ”
And it seems Sarah is struggling with the temptation of treats before bed.
I tell you what, I’m eating like a horse. I can’t stop eating all the time. I’m hungry just before I go to bed
Sarah Hadland
She said with a laugh: “I tell you what, I’m eating like a horse.
“I can’t stop eating all the time.
“I’m hungry just before I go to bed.
“I’m literally by the fridge going, ‘Cheese, milk, I want it all’.
Sarah’s boosted fitness will come in handy this weekend, as bosses have brought back the Strictly dance-a-thon, which will see the remaining contestants all samba at the same time.
After the couples have performed their main dance, they will shimmy back on to the ballroom floor to samba as a group, where the judges will eliminate them one by one, until the winner is crowned.
The scores will affect their position on the leaderboard, too, and influence who ends up in the dreaded dance-off.
And Sarah reckons there could be carnage on the dance floor.
She said: “I’m a little bit terrified because they’ve done things like this before on Strictly and I, personally, loved it because there’s a slight ‘It’s A Knockout’ danger to it because everyone’s careering round.
“There’s a lot of jeopardy to it, something could go wrong.
“I’m just hoping Vito will be shouting instructions at me.”
- Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One tonight at 7.05pm.