Sarah Hadland admits visiting Blackpool for this week’s Strictly brings back painful memories. It's because she was terrorised by a crazed donkey in the city.
The Miranda actress, 53, was taken there for a family holiday when she was a child and during the ride along the seafront, she was left traumatised.
She said: “My mum took us to go on a little donkey ride on the beach. I got on a donkey, but it got spooked.
“I swung under the donkey and was dragged with my face in the sand.
“This donkey was called something like Brenda. It’s like something in a horror film.”
Sarah also had a bad experience on one of the rides at the city’s iconic Pleasure Beach.
She said: “We got there and we did the rollercoaster. When our photograph came through everyone had their arms in the air, but I’m nowhere to be seen.
“I’m in the brace position, probably screaming, ‘Brace, brace!’”
The trip was so bad her family ended it early.
She added: “I think I was a bit traumatised and just came home.”
Despite her bad experiences in Blackpool, Sarah insists she is excited to be back in the city for this weekend’s show.
It will be staged at the famous Tower Ballroom, which is famed for its dance history.
She said: “It’s just a huge privilege. How many people who are not professional dancers can say that they’ve competed on the ballroom at Blackpool? That’s just crazy.
“There is added pressure because you’ve got the size and the scale, the privilege is just going to make me absolutely go for it.”
The Blackpool show kicks off on Saturday at 6.45pm on BBC One.
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