Strictly Star Admits Crush on Pro Partner but Won't Act on It

Sarah Hadland recently admitted that she fancied Vito Coppola the minute she laid eyes on him but hasn’t got the ‘energy’ for dancing and a fling.

The actress, 53, and her pro dancing partner Vito, 32, have spent most of the week rehearsing a steamy paso doble for Saturday evening’s show.

But it appears the sexual tension has gotten to Sarah as she freely admitted that she fancied the Italian hunk the minute she set eyes on him because he is of course, attractive.

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While discussing whether or not she fancied her dance partner, Sarah revealed to The Sun: ‘Yes, I fancied him. I’m alive, aren’t I?’

‘If you’re female and have a heartbeat, how could he NOT be anybody’s type?’

Sarah Hadland recently admitted that she fancied Vito Coppola the minute she laid eyes on him but hasn’t got the ‘energy’ for dancing and a fling

The actress, 53, and her pro dancing partner Vito, 32, have spent most of the week rehearsing a steamy paso doble for Saturday evening’s show

She said: ‘The paso doble we’re doing this week is very serious and sensual, and when we started learning it I was very, very giggly.’

The star also confessed that she had to keep her eyes on the camera while rehearsing the routine.

Claiming there’s a lot of ‘groin to thigh’ Sarah confessed that she also has to look ‘deep into his eyes’ which makes things ‘ten times worse’.

Sarah has appeared in a string of TV hits and is best known for her role as Stevie Sutton in the BBC One BAFTA-nominated comedy TV series Miranda.

However, nothing could quite prepare her for the intimate dance with Vito and viewers will get to see the results of the pair’s steamy encounter on this evening’s show.

Sarah confessed that as an actor you are very ‘up close with people’ however, Strictly is ‘another level’.

But the star revealed that she doesn’t find it ‘difficult’ getting up close and personal with her dance partner.

The star cheekily added that although she’s already a Strictly fan, Vito is the ‘cherry on the cake’.

But it appears the sexual tension has gotten to Sarah as she freely admitted that she fancied the Italian hunk the minute she set eyes on him because he is of course, attractive

In a new interview Sarah revealed: ‘Yes, I fancied him. I’m alive, aren’t I? If you’re female and have a heartbeat, how could he NOT be anybody’s type?’

However, she confessed that she doesn’t have the ‘energy’ for dancing and a fling and claimed she can only do one or the other as she’s now ‘committed to the dance’.

Sarah also revealed that she feels she is carving out her niche on the show as the ‘funny girl’ as she is ‘muscling in on the comedy’.

Despite her comedic background, Sarah is a serious contender for Strictly’s glitterball trophy as she and Vito finished in joint second place on the leaderboard last week.

Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and her partner Aljaž Škorjanec also finished in second place.

While JLS star JB Gill and his partner Amy Dowden were just one point clear of them.

On last week’s show, viewers could not vote for their favourites or vote anyone off of the show.

However, that is set to change as a couple will be eliminated from tonight’s show.

Despite the news of an elimination on this evening’s show, Sarah feels confident that she and Vito will make it through thanks to everything he has taught her so far.

However, Sarah confessed that she doesn’t have the ‘energy’ for dancing and a fling and claimed she can only do one or the other as she’s now ‘committed to the dance’

Admitting that it sounds a bit ‘arty farty’ Sarah confessed that she feels like she’s learning more about herself as she pushes herself in rehearsals to keep going.

Sarah also admitted that she and Vito both have similar personalities and it doesn’t feel like she is being taught in a ‘strict’ way when it comes to rehearsals.

Instead, it feels like she is being taught by someone who ‘believes’ in her.

The 20th-anniversary series of Strictly has been somewhat tainted after the BBC show was embroiled in scandal in a year plagued with controversy.

And the BBC failed to address the scandal during the launch episode despite the results of the misconduct investigation still pending.

It all began last October when actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly quit the show before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her.

The Sherlock actress has made a series of accusations about Giovanni’s teaching methods and has described his behaviour as ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’. He strongly denies all of the claims.

Giovanni, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners.

With the report into his misconduct due any day now, Amanda has reportedly been left deeply disappointed with the BBC bosses over fears they’re ‘protecting’ the dancer amid the bullying probe.

The 20th-anniversary series of Strictly has been somewhat tainted after the BBC show was embroiled in scandal in a year plagued with controversy (the 2024 contestants pictured)

It all began last October when actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly quit the show before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her (pictured in 2023)

After Giovanni, the show was hit with a fresh wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott (both pictured in 2023)

There have been high-level meetings among BBC bosses as they navigate how to deliver their findings as they fear the looming possibility of legal action from either Amanda or Giovanni if either is disappointed by the outcome.

After Giovanni, the show was hit with a fresh wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked in July for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Zara explained she didn’t report the incidents at the time as she was ‘scared’ of backlash.

Instead, it was junior production staff who came forward to share what they had witnessed as the investigation into pro dancer Giovanni was taking place.

Zara told her followers that while much of her time on Strictly ‘was everything I could have dreamt of’ inside the training room with Graziano there were ‘particular incidents which are incredibly distressing’.