BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Sarah Hadland heartbreaking confession about last episode of Miranda

Strictly Come Dancing's Sarah Hadland, who played Stevie in Miranda, said the final episode that was filmed was ‘very, very emotional’ and she was shocked by the twists and turns

Strictly actress Sarah Hadland couldn’t believe it when she read the final episodes of Miranda and called the sitcom’s creator to question the storyline.

Actress Sarah Hadland couldn’t be more excited to be a contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. She’s been a fan of the show for years and wept when she tried on her first outfit during rehearsals. "When I first put my Strictly dress on I cried, which has apparently never happened in 20 years," she revealed. Sarah, 53, watches the annual launch show at her friend and co-star Miranda Hart’s home along with other famous names: "There’s quite a few of us - Patricia Hodge and Sally Philips, Sue Perkins, Clare Balding, Alice Arnold, Emma Freud, it’s quite a full-on crew," she said.

TV devotees will best remember Sarah as Stevie Sutton, the best friend of Miranda in the BBC sitcom of the same name. The series ran for just over five years and the final scenes were played out in two Christmas specials, with the last episode airing on New Year’s Day in 2015. Having starred in the hugely successful show for so long and becoming friends with the creator, writer and star, Miranda, it was always going to be tough to say goodbye to the much-loved characters - for the avid fans and the stars. Sarah revealed that filming the last episode was indeed a heartbreaking experience.

"We were all very sad, including Miranda," she told Radio Times just after the last scenes had been shot. "We did the second episode last night in front of a studio audience. It was extremely sad and there were a lot of tears. It was very, very emotional." The cast were aware that show creator and star Miranda wanted to finish up over the course of two episodes and that there would be a break between series three and the Christmas specials. She gave them a heads up and a rough idea of the storylines that would play out beforehand.

When Sarah came to see the script in full, she was shocked at the direction the plot took and had to call Miranda to share her disbelief at some of the surprises in store: "I read it all, ringing her in between and going, 'Reaaaaally? Is that what's going to happen?!'" she said. Followers of the show will remember that Miranda finally splits from her on-off love interest and fiance Gary, played by Tom Ellis. She and Stevie have made up after falling out and Stevie moves in with her best mate to help her deal with her heartbreak and so she's not alone. At the end Miranda realises she doesn’t need Gary but that she wants him and they marry at a restaurant.

Sarah and Miranda have remained best friends since the show ended, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she was spotted at some point in the audience at the Strictly studios supporting her pal during her performance. Sarah will be competing against 14 other celebrities to lift the glitterball trophy, including TOWIE’s Pete Wicks, Olympic hockey player Sam Quek and eighties pop star Toyah Willcox.

Strictly airs on Saturday evenings on BBC1.