Strictly fans praise Sarah Hadland as ‘star of season’ after sensational Paso Doble

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been keen to pre-emptively crown Sarah Hadland the winner of this year’s competition after she stole the show with her sensual Paso Doble in week two.

The 53-year-old comedy actor, best known for playing the joke shop manager Stevie Sutton in the BBC sitcom Miranda, performed a stunning Paso to “Freed From Desire” by Gala during Saturday night’s episode (28 August) to rapturous applause and praise from fans at home.

Hadland effortlessly stormed across the ballroom wearing a bedazzled cape-like dress. After she executed her elegant technical lifts and showed off her fan-flapping skills, judge Craig Revel Horwood said: “That got me going, darling.”

Motsi Mabuse said Hadland was “full of power” while Anton Du Beke told her “you topped off a great night”. Overall, the pair came second on the leaderboard, following behind Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec by three points with 32.

One fan on X/Twitter immediately crowned Hadland the “star of the season” as another called her an “amazing pocket rocket”.

Hadland performs a Paso to ‘Freed From Desire’ (BBC/Guy Levy)
Hadland performs a Paso to ‘Freed From Desire’ (BBC/Guy Levy)

Another fan went as far as to call her “Dame Sarah” saying she was already the “winner”.

“SARAH HADLAND I LOVE YOU AND YOUR SPINS,” said another passionate fan, as one concluded simply: “Sarah Hadland. Take a bow.”

The dance comes after Hadland jokingly admitted to fancying her pro partner Coppola from the minute they met.

Sarah Hadland’s show-stopping Paso Doble (BBC/Guy Levy)
Sarah Hadland’s show-stopping Paso Doble (BBC/Guy Levy)

“Yes, I fancied him. I’m alive, aren’t I?” she said in a recent interview. “If you’re female and have a heartbeat, how could he NOT be anybody’s type?”

Speaking about the choreography ahead of Saturday night’s routine, Hadland told The Sun: “The paso doble we’re doing this week is very serious and sensual, and when we started learning it I was very, very giggly.”

She then joked: “There’s a lot of groin to thigh, and I have to look deep into his eyes, which make it ten times worse.”