BBC Strictly’s Sarah Hadland shares 'extra pressure' she was under during latest live show

Strictly Come Dancing stars Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola appeared on The One Show following their emotional tribute to Harry Potter star Dame Maggie Smith

Strictly Come Dancing star Sarah Hadland has admitted that she felt ‘extra pressure’ during last weekend's live show. During Movie Week, the actress, 53, paid tribute to Harry Potter star Dame Maggie Smith, who recently passed away.

Sarah took to the dance floor on Saturday night with professional dance partner Vito Coppola and dressed as the character Professor Minerva McGonagall as they performed a touching Viennese Waltz to Hedwig's Theme from the popular movie.

The actress, who is well known for her role on ITV sitcom The Job Lot, described Maggie, as 'one of my biggest inspirations,' adding that it was a real honour to be able to pay tribute to the movie icon.

The couple scored 33 out of a possible 40 and at the time, the judges praised the performance, with Motsi saying: “Highlight of the night so far, nostalgic and brilliant.”

Following their emotional routine, Sarah and Vito appeared on BBC The One Show alongside hosts Alex Jones and Alex Scott and just minutes in they were congratulated on their heart warming tribute.

Alex Jones started off by saying: “We have to congratulate you on Saturday night, it was tremendous. It was such a moving tribute to Dame Maggie Smith.”

She then asked: “Did you feel extra pressure?” Sarah admitted: “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 jumped in and continued: “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 added: “It was really magical.”

It comes as Vito was also left getting 'emotional' after reflecting on the performance. Taking to Instagram hours after cameras stopped rolling on Saturday night, Vito described the routine as ';just magical' as he wrote: "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."

The performance put them joint second on the leaderboard, tied with Dr Punam and Gorka and Shayne and Nancy and just one point behind top couple Tasha and Aljaz.

The One Show airs weekdays from 7pm on BBC One and iplayer