Strictly's Sarah Hadland gives verdict on Katya Jones and Wynne Evans hand drama

The Strictly Come Dancing star said 'you just have to be yourself and hope people connect with that'

Vito Coppola and Sarah Hadland said they hoped viewers would connect with them. (ITV screengrab)
Vito Coppola and Sarah Hadland said they hoped viewers would connect with them. (ITV screengrab)

Sarah Hadland has weighed in on the Katya Jones and Wynne Evans hand "joke" drama, saying you have to be yourself in Strictly Come Dancing and hope that viewers connect with you.

The actor and her dance partner Vito Coppola were asked by This Morning whether the scrutiny Jones and Evans were under had made them self-conscious about how they came across on TV, but they said they tried not to think too much about it.

Hadland added that she had been stopped in the broccoli aisle of the supermarket by a Strictly fan who took her to task on her gapping.

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Vito Coppola and Sarah Hadland said they hoped Strictly viewers would connect with them. (BBC)

Katya Jones and Wynne Evans have found themselves at the centre of the latest Strictly scandal this week when viewers spotted Jones appearing to push away her partner's wandering hand during a live show, before refusing to high-five him.

The pair have shrugged it off as an inside joke that did not translate well on screen and now Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola have told This Morning how the scrutiny the cast are under has affected them.

Asked by host Ben Shephard whether the drama from Saturday's show had made them self-conscious about how they come across, Hadland said: "I think especially with a show like Strictly when there is so much attention, you just have to go into it completely being yourself and keep doing that.

Read more: Strictly Come Dancing

"I wouldn't be able to maintain something that isn't yourself, so you just have to be who you are, react how you would react to stuff and that's all you can do and hope that people connect with that and can appreciate that."

Pro dancer Coppola, the show's reigning champion, agreed: "The key is be yourself. I'm constantly pranking Sarah."

The pair also laughed about Hadland's co-star Miranda Hart offering them advice on their routines each week. Coppola said: "I take all the advice from Miranda and work on it."

Hadland added: "She's like our secondary coach, so she comes in at the end to tidy all the loose ends up and make sure that Vito's completely on track."

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Sarah Hadland was praised for trying Strictly's hardest ever steps. (BBC)

While Hadland and Coppola have racked up some high scores so far, the Miranda star admitted she was still being targeted by opinionated viewers – including one who ambushed her in the supermarket vegetable aisle.

She said: "Everyone's got an opinion. I was in the supermarket the other day and somebody started talking to me about my gapping. Excuse me, I'm just trying to pick my single stem broccoli and they're like oh, the gapping. I'm like, sorry?

"That's the thing about Strictly, people love the show so much and they love the knowledge about the phrasing."

On Saturday, Hadland was complimented by judge Anton Du Beke for taking on the "hardest move ever attempted on Strictly", but revealed she still didn't know which part of the routine he was referring to.

She said: "I didn't know what it was and at first I thought, is he being sarcastic?...Just to be clear, I still don't know which bit it is."

This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am on weekdays.