Claudia Winkleman breaks down in tears as BBC Strictly’s Vito Coppola pays sweet tribute to Sarah Hadland: ‘I’ve gone!’

Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman was left in tears after Vito Coppola shared a sweet message to partner Sarah Hadland after making it through to the final.

Tonight, Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal had their dreams crushed after they performed in the dance-off against Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec – with all four judges saving the Love Island star.

Before finding out who had come to the end of their journey, Coppola and Hadland were the first to find out they had made it through to next week alongside Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell.

Speaking to Winkleman in the Claud-atorium, she noted the reaction from the couple when Tess Daly called out their names.

The Miranda star admitted: “I genuinely thought we were going to be the in the dance-off, I really psyched myself for that and I just couldn’t believe it when our names were called out. It feels like a dream at the minute.”

When asked how he felt, Coppola joked: “Claudia I don’t know, honestly… I feel normal,” leaving everyone else to burst out laughing.

Winkleman went on to ask Hadland if there was anything she wanted to say to her partner, leaving her to turn to Coppola and note: “I mean Vito.

“You believe in me and I am so grateful because I couldn’t have got here with anybody else and you put so much work into our routines and you know.

“You are so meticulous about everything, you just constantly, even when you’re not in rehearsal, thinking about it, sending me messages and I am so grateful.”

Expressing the same love back, Coppola said: “I said to you in the beginning my way of teaching is like a mirror so if I do what I do because I mirror you and you deserve all of this.”

Winkleman let out a high-pitched noise before she admitted: “I’ve gone! I did not expect that!”

Bringing the moment back to a more light-hearted note, Hadland teased: “All that is left for me now is for you to propose and the story is complete.”

The Strictly semi-final saw five remaining couples perform two routines each on Saturday night, with two perfect scores awarded by the judges.

The competition reached new heights as the celebrities battled for a place in next week’s final, with musical choices ranging from Metallica to Aretha Franklin.

JLS star JB Gill and partner Lauren Oakley topped the leaderboard after delivering one of the first perfect Salsa scores in six years on the show.

In the first round, Gill scored an impressive 39 points, whilst Hadland and Coppola earned 36, and Ghouri and Škorjanec received 35.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Pete Wicks addresses ‘ups and downs’ of BBC Strictly backlash as he issues statement after exitMaura Higgins sends clear message to Pete Wicks amid BBC Strictly stint after addressing romanceBBC Strictly fans outraged as Tess and Claudia introduce new format change at semi-final stage

The second round saw both Gill and Oakley’s Salsa to Red Alert and Ghouri and Skorjanec’s Waltz to (You Make Me Feel) A Natural Woman achieve perfect scores of 40.

McCausland and Buswell’s Viennese waltz to Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters earned them 36 points, matching Hadland and Coppola’s second performance.

The final leaderboard saw Gill and Oakley leading with 79 points, followed by Ghouri and Skorjanec on 75, and Hadland and Vito with 72 points.

McCausland and Buswell secured fourth place with 69 points, while Wicks and Pzrystal finished with 65 points.