Sarah Hadland embroiled in BBC Strictly ‘favouritism’ row as song choice for Musicals Week unveiled
As this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition heats up, fans are looking forward to the highly-regarded Musicals Week on Saturday.
Couples will be getting extra theatrical as they honour some of the biggest stage shows, but following the BBC show’s announcement of each pair’s song, some fans have argued there’s evidence of “favouritism”.
On the show’s official Instagram, a post revealed the musical number each couple will be performing to for the episode, which sees them getting immersed into character with costumes and recognisable background scenery.
The announcement read: “Please take your seats for #Strictly Musicals Week! Get ready for a dazzling line-up of tunes and routines!”
Among the revelations, which included a number of hit shows such as West Side Story and Mary Poppins, it was confirmed actress Sarah Hadland and partner Vito Coppola would be performing to Popular from Wicked.
The beloved show, telling an alternative story to The Wizard of Oz, first graced stages in 2003, but the hugely-anticipated film adaptation starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo hit screens just days ago.
As a result, a new wave of Wicked-mania has taken hold of the nation, with the film set to become one of the biggest of the year.
Thanks to the hype surrounding the film, Strictly viewers have argued Hadland, 53, has an unfair advantage, with some going on to argue the former Miranda star is frequently given well-known songs to perform to as a result of “favouritism”.
In the comments section, one person penned: “Oh look, Sarah and Vito are given a song from probably the biggest musical about just now as the film has just come out.”
They continued: “They have never had a dodgy theme or song this whole season. The favouritism is clear in my opinion.”
In response, another wrote: “I agree 100%. Other contestants get inappropriate songs for their dances or not as popular or powerful. Good song makes a lot of difference.”
One went on: “Have a look back at all her song choices and themes. Harry potter, a song that meant something to her and her child, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Kylie, Proud, the song she had last week. Think that says it all really.”
Others disagreed though and expressed their excitement to see Hadland taking on the classic musical number.
“Personally I do think they’ll do a great job of it though,” one commented.
“Popular and a Charleston! I’m so excited,” another added.
Another Instagram user responded: “Sara & Vito are going to provide another ICONIC performance for us.” (sic)
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The duo are among the favourites in the series, consistently topping the leaderboard with high scores from the judges.
Coppola, 32, also has a promising track record after winning last year’s show alongside soap star Ellie Leach.
Hadland’s co-stars are dancing to a variety of signature tracks this weekend, with Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe performing to I’m Here from The Color Purple; Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec dancing to Ex-Wives from SIX, and Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell taking to the floor with You’re The Top from Anything Goes.
Elsewhere, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley will perform to Let’s Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins, and Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal’s routine will be set to Somewhere from West Side Story.
