Sarah Hadland is all dressed up and ready to show off her moves in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, taking part along with other famous faces such as Nick Knowles, Tasha Ghouri and JB Gill.
But why has one famous friend slammed her for appearing on Strictly? Does she still speak to Miranda Hart? And which celeb did she “snog” in one of her “awful” films?
Here’s everything you need to know about Strictly 2024 star Sarah Hadland.
Where Sarah Hadland is from and how old she is
Sarah Hadland is from Hertfordshire, and was born on May 15 1971, making her 53.
I was told a gazillion times: ‘You will not be an actress.’
And it seems Sarah was always keen to make it big in the world of showbiz. She recently told the Daily Mirror: “I trained in dance from the age of three and then I left home at the age of 16 to go to a musical theatre college.”
In London, she danced in West End musicals Cats and Grease by the age of 19.
At the time, Sarah was keen to venture into acting, but talking to The Observer in 2013, Sarah revealed: “I hadn’t been to university or drama school. I was told a gazillion times: ‘You will not be an actress.'”
How wrong they turned out to be…
Shows Sarah Hadland has been in
With a career spanning three decades, Sarah is no stranger to appearing on screens.
Starting out in theatre back, Sarah soon bagged roles in the likes of Doctors, Bad Girls and The Bill in the 2000s.
But it was her role in the smash-hit sitcom Miranda, which debuted in 2009, that cemented Sarah as a comedy legend. Playing Miranda Hart’s best mate Stevie, Sarah appeared in all three series of the show.
Since Miranda ended in 2015, Sarah’s appeared in Horrible Histories and Inside No. 9, and she also played Trish Collingwood in the ITV sitcom The Job Lot.
Sarah Hadland in James Bond
What’s more, in 2008, Sarah starred in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, playing a receptionist.
When asked if she considered herself a bond girl, Sarah told Cultbox in 2011: “Well, technically I suppose I sort of am! A mini-Bond girl!
“It was quite weird when I auditioned for it. There was a room full of models so I wasn’t even nervous, I just knew I wouldn’t get it, then they decided to go for me instead!”
And it turns out she was left swooning over James Bond himself Daniel Craig.
She added: “His eyes are very beautiful; very piercing blue eyes. He’s not very tall, but he was very nice. You sort of felt sorry for him, there’s such a huge amount of attention, all that pressure resting on him!”
How tall is Strictly star Sarah Hadland?
Sarah is someone renowned for her small height, with the actress coming in at 5ft 1in (155 cm). And it turns out, Sarah’s fans have a somewhat urge to take advantage of her height.
“People do come up to me and say: ‘Oh, I just want to push you over, you’re so little.’ I go: ‘Well, that would be assault so don’t do that,'” she once recalled.
Sarah Hadland’s love life
Sarah keeps her private life low-key and is reportedly not married at the moment. There are no known public instances of her dating.
Sarah ‘snogged’ megastar in ‘awful’ first film
Sarah has appeared alongside several famous faces over the years. And in 2013, Sarah recalled “snogging” A-list actor Derek Jacobi in one of her early films.
“It was one of my first jobs in a dreadful film called Basil. I played Windermere House Maid and I had to snog Derek Jacobi on the lawn,” she told Metro.
“There’s this awful moaning noise, then the camera pans back to reveal Derek Jacobi pawing me under a tree. He was absolutely lovely about it and there I was thinking, this is one of the great stars of the theatre, so it was a bit weird.”
Miranda Hart and Sarah Hadland are still friends
Sarah and Miranda Hart played best pals in the BBC sitcom, Miranda. And it turns out the pair are just as good pals off-screen as they are on-screen.
Back in 2015, when the show finished, Sarah shared why saying goodbye to her Miranda co-stars was easy.
“We know each other’s families. We socialise a lot together. I think we’ll all be friends for life and we’ll always be the Miranda family,” Sarah told Radio Times.
In 2019, Sarah said she regularly speaks to the Miranda cast. She told The Sun: “I speak to the Miranda cast all the time. I feel lucky to have done a job that has given me a good friend for life.”
Sarah ‘nearly died’ after allergic reaction
In 2010, the star suffered a life-threatening fish allergy that led her to being hospitalised. Speaking about the ordeal, Sarah revealed it happened after eating a plaice fillet.
“It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced in my life. My lips started to swell up quite quickly and I was itching all over,” she revealed to the Daily Express in 2015.
The comedian called NHS Direct where they told her she was having anaphylactic shock and they sent an ambulance.
She went on: “While I was on the phone to them all my lymph nodes began swelling up, under my armpits, in my groin, behind my knees and there was a bizarre swelling like a cauliflower that caused my left eye to close completely.
“My ears felt as though I was underwater. By then, I was struggling to breathe as it felt like the back of my throat was closing up.”
Sarah added: “I feared I might be dying. If the ambulance crew hadn’t come so quickly it could have been a different story. I don’t remember them arriving.”
Sarah Hadland slammed by pal for Strictly
Earlier this summer, it was confirmed that Sarah had signed up for this year’s Strictly series. But a famous pal of Sarah’s once previously said it would be “unfair” for Sarah to take part in the show.
Actress Alex Kingston revealed in 2019 that Sarah is a “trained dancer” due to her ballet experience.
“Sarah Hadland and I talked about how much we’d like to do Strictly Come Dancing,” she shared.
Alex continued: “Then I discovered that she’s actually a trained ballet dancer. ‘Hang on a minute! That’s not fair!’ So I can’t do it on a season when she is on it!”
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Strictly starts on BBC One at 7.20pm on Saturday September 14.
Read more: Tasha Ghouri and Jamie Borthwick favourites to win Strictly 2024 as full line-up confirmed
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