Strictly's Sarah Hadland shares reason she felt 'extra pressure' during latest dance

The Job Lot star Sarah Hadland has revealed that she felt 'extra pressure' during last weekend's Strictly Come Dancing live show as she paid tribute to a late icon

Strictly Come Dancing's Sarah Hadland has opened up about the 'extra pressure' she experienced during the show's Movie Week. The 53 year old actress honoured the late Harry Potter star Dame Maggie Smith with a heartfelt performance.

Dressed as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Sarah and her dance partner Vito Coppola wowed audiences with a Viennese Waltz to Hedwig's Theme from the beloved film series on Saturday night.

Best known for her role in ITV's The Job Lot, Sarah spoke of Dame Maggie as 'one of my biggest inspirations,' and expressed how privileged she felt to pay homage to the celebrated actress.

The duo's touching dance earned them a score of 33 out of 40, with judge Motsi Mabuse commenting: "Highlight of the night so far, nostalgic and brilliant."

Appearing on BBC The One Show with hosts Alex Jones and Alex Scott after their performance, Sarah and Vito were praised for their moving tribute, reports Birmingham Live.

Alex Jones remarked: "We have to congratulate you on Saturday night, it was tremendous. It was such a moving tribute to Dame Maggie Smith."

When asked if she felt additional pressure, Sarah confessed: "Yes, I'll be honest. Dame Maggie Smith is just a real icon and legend and I think all actresses adore her because she was amazing. So I did feel the extra pressure because I thought we can't go wrong, it won't be acceptable."

Vito chimed in with, "It was very magical. We were synchronised and I said to her 'let's move like we are one' and just bring the magic." Sarah echoed his sentiment: "It was really magical."

As emotions ran high, Vito later became 'emotional' as he reflected on their performance. Turning to his Instagram followers shortly after the show concluded on Saturday, Vito couldn't hide his feelings, posting: "This is has been just Magical. When I had to choreograph and I listened to this song I've got emotional every single time. It's something special and I really hope that we have been able to have dedicated a beautiful tribute to Maggie Smith."

Their outstanding performance secured them joint second place on the leaderboard, sharing the spot with Dr Punam and Gorka and Shayne and Nancy, and coming in just a whisker behind leaders Tasha and Aljaz.

The One Shoe airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer