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

It was revealed that the actress, who starred as Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight Harry Potter films, passed away inside a hospital – and prompted a flood of tributes as celebrities and fans mourned the heartbreaking loss.

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

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

BBC viewers also felt moved by the tribute, with one penning: ‘As a huge Harry Pottter fan who is heartbroken over Maggie’s d3ath, this made me cry’;

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

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It was revealed that the actress, who starred as Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight Harry Potter films, passed away inside a hospital – and prompted a flood of tributes as celebrities and fans mourned the heartbreaking los

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

‘That was a beautiful 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 everywhere started to recognise her.

The beloved actress – who sadly di3d aged 89 on Friday – starred as Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight films.

Following her d3ath, 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…That did, sort of, change your life in a way?’

To which Maggie at the time joked back with: ‘Well, yes, a lot of very small people kind of used to say hello to me and that was nice’.

The audience then laughed before she added: ‘It was a whole different lot of people.’

Graham then chimed in with: ‘But (it’s) also so weird that they’d only know you for that one thing. Like you’ve never existed before’.

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During Strictly’s Movie Week, Sarah and her pro dance partner Vito Coppola performed a touching Viennese Waltz to Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter

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

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BBC viewers also felt moved by the tribute, with one penning: ‘As a huge Harry Pottter fan who is heartbroken over Maggie’s d3ath, this made me cry’

Maggie then quipped back with: ‘No I never had’ and the audience burst out into fits of laughter once again.

She added: ‘Except one kid once said to me, ‘Were you really a cat?’ and I heard myself say ‘just pull yourself together’ How could I have been?’ the audience laughed.

The legendary actress then proceeded to share with Graham a story about how a child once couldn’t fathom where he recognised her from.

She said: ‘Funnily enough I was in Waitrose in Stonington my favourite, and a little boy was at the checkout with his mother 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 ‘Its all right it’ll come to me in a minute,’ I thought that was so sweet.’

Aside from 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 she had passed in a statement, tributes for the beloved actress started pouring in.

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

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After her sons revealed she had passed in a statement, tributes for the beloved actress started pouring in (pictured in 2015)

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

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

‘She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider 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 pictures of his former co-star.

Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard:  Movie Week 3

1. Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec – 34

2. Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola – 33

3. Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu – 33

4. Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez – 33

5. JB Gill and Amy Dowden MBE – 32

6. Wynne Evans and Katya Jones –  30

7. Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell – 30

8. Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas – 30

9. Sam Quek MBE and Nikita Kuzmin – 30

10. Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe – 28

11. Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał – 26

12. Paul Merson and Karen Hauer  – 19

13. Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones – 15