Strictly Come Dancing viewers left emotional and praise Sarah Hadland’s Dame Maggie Smith tribute following her death aged 89

Strictly Come Dancing viewers were left emotional after watching Sarah Hadland’s Maggie Smith tribute on Saturday.

It was revealed that the actress, who played Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight Harry Potter films, died in hospital – prompting an outpouring of tributes as celebrities and fans mourned the heartbreaking loss.

During Strictly’s Movie Week, Sarah and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola performed a moving Viennese Waltz to Hedwig’s theme from Harry Potter.

The judges praised her performance, with Motsi saying: ‘highlight of the evening so far, nostalgic and brilliant’

BBC viewers also felt moved by the tribute, with one token: ‘As a huge Harry Potter fan who is heartbroken over Maggie’s death, this made me cry’;

‘Beautiful tribute to Maggie Smith’; ‘Maggie would have loved it’;

‘That was a nice tribute to Maggie, I hope Sarah and Vito are proud of themselves’

It comes after Maggie revealed the impact Harry Potter had on her life in a resurfaced interview as people started to recognize her everywhere.

The beloved actress – who sadly passed away on Friday at the age of 89 – played Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight films.

Following her death, Maggie’s 2023 appearance on The Graham Norton Show has resurfaced, where the actress and the Irish comedian, 61, discussed how Harry Potter “changed her life.”

In the clip, Graham asks Maggie, “Harry Potter… Has that changed your life in any way?”

To which Maggie joked at the time, “Well, yeah, a lot of really short people used to say hello to me and that was nice.”

The audience then laughed before she added: “They were very different people.”

Graham then said, “But (it’s) also so weird that they only know you for that one thing. As if you never existed before’.

Maggie then quipped back with, “No, I never had that,” and the audience erupted in laughter again.

She added, “Except a kid once said to me, ‘Were you really a cat?’ and I heard myself say: ‘get together’. How could I have done that?’ the audience laughed.

The legendary actress then shared a story with Graham about how a child once couldn’t fathom what he recognized her from.

She said: ‘Funnily enough I was in Waitrose in Stonington, my favorite, and a little boy was standing at the checkout with his mum and he kept looking at me.’

“And I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ and he kept looking at me and looking at me and I said, ‘Can I help you?’ and he said, ‘It’s okay, it’ll come to me in a minute,’ and I thought that was so sweet.”

In addition to Harry Potter, the British star was known for her role as Violet Crawley in the TV series Downton Abbey, as well as her Academy Award-winning performance in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

After her sons revealed her passing in a statement, tributes to the beloved actress began pouring in.

In tribute to his former co-star, Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint has updated his Instagram profile photo with a sweet throwback photo of the pair.

Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville – who played her son in the show – also paid tribute.

He told the BBC: ‘Anyone who has ever shared a scene with Maggie will testify to her keen eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

‘She was a true legend of her generation and will happily live on in so many wonderful film performances. My condolences to her boys and the rest of the family.’

Dan Stevens – who played Matthew Crawley in the period drama – paid tribute on his Instagram Story, writing ‘Truly one of The Greats. RIP” alongside two photos of his former co-star.