WHILE most Strictly celebs balk at the idea of any sexual tension with their pro dance partners, Sarah Hadland has zero problem with the idea.
Which probably has something to do with the fact she is paired up with reigning show champ Vito Coppola and has spent most of this week doing a steamy paso doble with her partner.
But comedy actress Sarah, 53, also freely admits she fancied the 32-year-old Italian hunk the minute she clapped eyes on him.
She said: “What a ridiculous question to ask me.
"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?
“The paso doble we’re doing this week is very serious and sensual, and when we started learning it I was very, very giggly.
“I kept the eye to camera because there’s a lot of, I’m going to call ‘tuppence to thigh’.
"I’m being bold but I can because I’m talking to The Sun.
“There’s a lot of groin to thigh, and I have to look deep into his eyes — which make it ten times worse.”
Of course, Sarah is a star herself, having appeared in a string of TV hits, perhaps most notably BBC One favourite Miranda and ITV sitcom The Job Lot.
But nothing could quite prepare her for getting so intimate with Vito — and we will all see the results of the pair’s steamy encounter on tonight’s Strictly.
Sarah said: “As an actor, you do get to be very up close with people, but with Strictly it’s another level.
"You have to be so close.
“I’m going to be honest, though — it’s not hard.
"Or rather, should we say, it’s not difficult. Let’s go with that.
“I’ve been a superfan of Strictly since it began. It’s incredible — everything, the costume . . . then Vito is the cherry on the cake!”
But might she fall victim to the Strictly Curse, where contestants’ love lives have often been thrown out of step as they ditch former flames to be with their show co-stars?
Sarah reckons not — but that is not down to any grand principles.
She said: “I haven’t got energy for both, I’ll be honest — I can either do the dance or have an affair, but I can’t do both. I’m committed to the dance now.”
Sarah is probably best known for starring on Miranda from 2009 to 2015, playing Stevie Sutton opposite leading lady Miranda Hart.
And her old pal has already posted a message on social media wishing her former co-star all the best on Strictly, as well as volunteering her “expert advice”.
Sarah said: “We got a video yesterday on Instagram.
"She posted it on her Insta, of her doing . . . what was it?
"No disrespect to Miranda — and I think she’ll wholeheartedly be on board with this — it wasn’t clear what dance it was.”
STRONG CONTENDER
Filming Miranda turned out to be the best training for Strictly because, while Love Islander Tasha Ghouri is the Sexy Girl among the new series contestants, and comic Chris McCausland is the Funny Guy, Sarah feels she is carving out her own niche.
She said: “I’m muscling in on the comedy.
"I’m muscling in on Chris’s funny things. I’m representing the funny women, thank you. So I’m the Funny Girl.”
Despite the tag, and her comedy background, Sarah is a serious con-tender for Strictly’s Glitterball trophy — something that was obvious when she and Vito finished in joint second place on the leaderboard last week, with Tasha and her pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec.
JLS star JB Gill and partner Amy Dowden were just one point clear of them.
Viewers could not vote for their favourites last week — or vote anyone off.
But all that changes tonight, when someone will get evicted from the show.
Sarah feels confident, though, thanks to everything Vito has been teaching her.
She said: “I know it sounds a bit arty-farty, but I’m going to be honest — it makes you feel like you’re learning a lot more about yourself.
“I definitely have moments in the day when I say to Vito, ‘I can’t do this’.
“As you get older, you’re kind of more insistent about things like that.
"But he’ll say, ‘Yes, you can. I believe in you — and we’re going to do it again’.
“And then I do it.
"And you go, ‘Wow, OK, I’m learning some- thing about myself.
"Somebody’s pushing me in a really positive, wonderful way’. I feel more alive.”
But can Vito be a bit of a taskmaster in the rehearsal room?
She replies: “I wouldn’t say taskmaster.
"No, with Vito, this is another thing.
“When you do the chemistry test, you all come in and dance with all the different pro dancers.
"You’re drawn to somebody because of the way your personalities are. Vito and I are similar — we’re very high-energy.
"I can’t explain it, it doesn’t feel like I’m being taught in a strict way, it’s like I’m being taught by someone that’s believing in me.”
But of course there is the added pressure of Vito being the current Glitterball holder, after triumphing on last year’s show with former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach.
So will he be able to replicate some of their gymnastic routines with new partner Sarah?
Vito intervenes to explain: “Yes, we feel the pressure, but not because I’m the champion, because it’s another journey.
"I define myself as a mirror teacher.
“I don’t have just one way of teaching and the celebrity or whatever student has to adapt on me — it’s the other way around.
"I adapt and I suit.
“Like, you know, when you build a dress on someone, no?
"The way I was teaching to [former Strictly partner] Fleur East is different to the way I was teaching Ellie.
“And it’s different from the way that I’m teaching Sarah.
"That is why it’s important to really get to know the person.”
There is certainly no doubting the close relationship Vito and Sarah have developed — so close, in fact, that she bought him a bottle of cologne for his 32nd birthday, which he celebrated yesterday.
And just to show how in sync the pair are, Sarah even guessed correctly which type of scent he wanted — a rather pricey one by Tom Ford, though she was not about to fork out for the real article.
She joked: “Yeah, it’s Tom Fraud, I went down the market.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m looking for something that’s Tom Ford, but not Tom Ford’. And it actually came in at £12.99. I’m laughing.”
