Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola on their chemistry and getting Strictly-fied

Sarah, did you always want to have Vito as your partner?

Sarah: That’s an understatement! The contestants have a chemistry meeting, where the dancers teach you a few steps. There was a dancer I thought I was going to want, but the minute I started dancing with Vito, I was like, "It’s got to be him. If it’s not him, I don’t know what I’m going to do."

Did you feel that same chemistry, Vito?

Vito: Yes, I felt it from the first moment we met. Sometimes people say to me, "Vito, you’re too much."

Sarah: I get told the same thing a lot: "Calm it down." I’ve been on jobs where other actors have said, "Who gave Sarah Hadland coffee? Whoever gave her coffee – no more."

Vito: But now we are too much, and we love it. You have to find the right way to channel all this energy. I very much go with the flow I don’t plan anything, but in the end, somehow, we will do it.

What else do you have in common?

Vito: We both love animals.

Sarah: I’m obsessed. My cat Percy, a ginger tabby who is not particularly svelte, is going to wear a version of our costume every week. Watch out on social media! He is not afraid of a hat or a bandana. He has been put in a doll’s Frozen dress. Maybe I could ask Strictly’s costume designer Vicky Gill to make something for Percy. I feel like with him backing us, that will get us quite far alone.

Vito: We should ask if we can use Percy in our choreography and bring him on to the Strictly floor.

Sarah: We did want to get animals into our routine. I wanted to maybe lead a sheep, lamb, or a piglet. Why have we never seen this? What about a guinea pig in my hand? I give it a little spin and pass it to Vito. No cruelty involved.

Vito: I could find a way to choreograph it.

Sarah: Vito and I both love food as well. He’s bringing the food at lunchtime.

Vito: I will so that we can eat well. I will orientate my dish around the week or the style of dance that we do! We have the ingredients and now our job is to put them together and make a dish... a dance.

What dish would you be?

Sarah: Are we thinking dessert? Are we thinking tiramisu?

Vito: We are definitely tiramisu. Do you know why? The word "tiramisu" in Italian means "pick me up". We are Team Tiramisu!

Sarah: Of course, because it’s got coffee in it! Team Tiramisarah!

Have you enjoyed getting Strictly-fied?

Sarah: It’s amazing. The first time I saw my costume, it was literally three handkerchiefs of purple Lycra with six safety pins. I was like, "Wow, that’s really basic. How are they going to bougie this up?"

After my fitting, I turned around to look in the mirror and it was a bit of a moment. It really caught me off guard. I just burst into tears. I’ve never worn anything so beautiful. I’ve got Lisa Armstrong doing my makeup, and Lisa Davey doing my hair.

I want wheelbarrows of glitter to be chucked on me, and then Vito can be spinning me. He spins me so quickly though! The first day, I had motion sickness.

Why do Strictly and why now?

Sarah: It’s a show I’ve always been a massive fan of. There was a part of me that was terrified of doing something I really love. It got to the point where so many people were like, "Why aren’t you doing this? We know you’ll love it," so I went for it.

My mum came to the launch show and said it was the best night of her life. My mum can be quite critical, but about Vito, she said, "Not only is he incredibly attractive, he’s got a superb physique. He is an absolutely lovely young man." She was almost cross about it!

A condensed version of this interview appears in the latest issue of Radio Times.

Strictly Come Dancing continues at 7pm this Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.

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