BBC Strictly star Sarah Hadland feared she was dying when she noticed strange symptom

Miranda star turned Strictly Come Dancing contestant Sarah Hadland, 53, was once rushed to hospital after experiencing a bizarre set of symptoms after eating dinner at home

Actress Sarah Hadland was rushed to hospital by ambulance in a terrifying ordeal.

With an impressive 30 points for her quickstep, Sarah and pro dancing partner Vito Coppola rushed almost to the top of the leaderboard in last week's instalment of Strictly Come Dancing - tied second place with Love Island's Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec. The duo performed a near-flawless routine of Dolly Parton's iconic hit 9 To 5, donning a frilly red blouse, colourful striped skirt and a permanent smile.

But the 53-year-old actress, best known for her role of Stevie in BBC's Miranda, once feared she was dying after noticing an unusual symptom during her dinner.

Back in 20120, the celeb suffered a severe allergic reaction whilst at home, after purchasing two plaice fillets. She consumed the first fish with no issues, but started feeling unwell after eating the second.

In an interview with the Express five years after the incident, Sarah recalled: "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. I was on my own in the house and I rang my mum, who was in Manchester, on my mobile and said: 'I think something is happening to me'.

"Neither of us thought of calling an ambulance because I'd never been very ill before and didn't want to bother anybody." Sarah ended up calling NHS Direct to explain her symptoms and was informed she was likely having an anaphylactic shock and that an ambulance was on its way.

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"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," she explained. "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."

Paramedics told the star that she may lose consciousness before they would arrive to take her to hospital, so asked for her to make sure the front door was open. She says she couldn't remember the medics entering the story but recalls fearing that she might be dying. Sarah now carries an adrenaline pen with her and avoids eating white fish to prevent another anaphylactic shock.

Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday on BBC One.

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