Sarah Hadland: ‘It’s not too late for Craig to show favoritism’

Sarah Hadland may have had a lucky turn of events by being paired with last year’s Strictly Come Dancing professional winner Vito Coppola, but she is quick to put to rest any accusations of favoritism.

“I don’t think we were shown any favoritism. So it’s not too late for favoritism to show.” And can you please tell Craig about showing favoritism? she jokes while catching up Metro from the Strictly studio.

Sarah, 53, has regularly wowed the Strictly Come Dancing judges, with her Argentine tango earning 38 points being just one example.

However, there was some controversy in the two 10 points awarded to Sarah, with a botched lift at the start of the dance preventing the performance from perfection.

Craig Revel Horwood was quick to realize the pair’s mistake, but nonetheless deemed it “wonderful” – awarding nine points to their performance.

Some fans pointed out that this might not necessarily be fair, and the chorus of favoritism intensified during musical theater week, when the duo danced to a Wicked song.

The film adaptation of the musical was smashing the box office at the time, which some fans believed gave the couple an advantage.

But Sarah is quick to point out that the couple actually had a major disadvantage during musical theater week: time.

“We were actually supposed to dance to Chicago’s They Both Reach for the Gun, and we had an incredible routine, completely choreographed by Matt Flynn. We all had to repeat that. They sent us the song. We listened to him. I was in heaven! I had seen my outfit, the sketches of the outfit,” she explained.

“Everything was ready and then, literally, on Saturday evening, which is very, very late, we were told that BBC officials were concerned about the use of the word gun.” And there was a big scramble to see what they could have on a Saturday night during the live show,” she continued.

Vito chimes in and says, “We based all of our dancing on the musical, not the movie. And also, I mean, strict fans know that last year Wicked was played during music week. Like last year, it was Annabelle who did it.

With accusations of unfair advantage completely dispelled, Sarah reflects on how Strictly is completely new territory for her.

“I mean, I’ve done a lot of studio sitcoms where you’re working in front of a studio audience, but you also have to split your brain because, you know, you have cameras up close. But it’s completely different, I would say, because the fact that it’s broadcast live is huge for anyone, she explains with her trademark animation.

“And it’s much bigger than a normal studio sitcom.” And also, just the live audience is very vocal and therefore enthusiastic. The atmosphere is incredible. The whole vibe of the show is so hyped and excited, and it’s, yeah, it’s like being in a little mini rock concert,” she concludes.

Soon the two launch into what is clearly a familiar banter rhythm, joking about their average day of rehearsal, during which they regularly take toast breaks during which Vito cleans the floor and Sarah accidentally burns the toast.

Sarah describes the routine: “I put toast on the grill because we have a kitchen where we rehearse and Vito cleans the floor. I put the toast on. He moves on to eggs. I then walk away and the toast burns. I get yelled at because the toast is burnt. I rush back and deny ever having made a toast.

Vito laughs and nods and adds, “And you first told me I had to butter it well.” It is very important to have butter everywhere.

After correcting Vito’s butter habits, the couple “almost goes through a pot of butter a week.” Do you know what the two of us really do? I incorporated Vito into salted butter, which I think is the British version of olive oil,” explains Sarah.

And while Sarah flatly rejected Vito’s “dusty Italian cookies,” she does a pretty good impression of him asking her in his Italian accent to bring him “chocolate-covered ladyfingers” from the stores, which makes us laugh all three.

It seems this playful camaraderie extends beyond the pair’s partnership, with Sarah pointing out how adorable all of the contestants are and how they’re “like the least competitive group of people ever.”

She also says that watching all the other couples dance gives her plenty of time to think; for example, she immediately responds when asked what dance each Miranda character would be represented by: “Penny would be the Viennese waltz, Miranda would be the jive.” Stevie, well, obviously, the Charleston, obviously.

When asked if the two took inspiration from Miranda, she made Vito laugh by saying, “Yes, we used all of Miranda’s tips in our choreography. Vito literally studied her videos and really made sure to take all his notes, even though some of his moves were very advanced, even for Vito.

But things get a little more serious when both men are asked about their chances in the final, with Vito speaking out to say: “You don’t want to think too far ahead. It’s now, it’s NOW.

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