Strictly’s Sarah Hadland: I would love for my age not to be commented on

The British actress, 53, has been performing with 2023 champion Vito Coppola during this year’s series of the BBC One show, and the duo have frequently landed in the top quarter of the judges’ leaderboard.

Hadland told The Times: “I’d love for my age not to be commented on, for it to be accepted that women are amazing and don’t need to be limited, when men seem to be allowed to do things without any comment.

“But if women watch and go, ‘Wow, I’m in my 50s, I could do that too,’ then that’s absolutely brilliant.

“Rather than go on about it, I’d rather just show what I can do. We need to change this narrative of women having a shelf life.

“I know loads my age who are really fit and active, they don’t drop off the ends of the Earth. We just need to be more visible.”

Reflecting on what it was like to run her first marathon in her 30s, she added: “It was a similar thing — I wondered if I could do it and a lot of people said ‘no, no’, but in the end that galvanised me.”

Speaking about her relationship to exercise, she said: “When I was young I exercised because I wanted to be thin and that’s an appalling goal.

“Now I exercise because I want to be strong and capable, I want my child to see me fit and healthy and because it helps my mental health.”

Hadland is most known for playing Stevie Sutton in Miranda Hart’s eponymous BBC sitcom.

Comedian and actress Hart, 51, who recently revealed her battle with Lyme disease, visited Hadland and Coppola during rehearsals in a clip shown on the programme last weekend.

She can be seen surprising the pair while dressed as a “choreographer” – wearing a black turtleneck and holding a small dog.

On Saturday, Hadland and Coppola will perform the American Smooth to Proud by Heather Small, a song Hadland’s character Stevie is often seen singing in Miranda.