One of the 15 famous faces taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series is former tennis star, Annabel Croft.
The 57-year-old was announced as the 14th contestant on Virgin Radio’s breakfast show yesterday morning (August 11).
She was the penultimate name to be revealed before Coronation Street star Les Dennis was confirmed as the final person added to the line-up.
Speaking about joining the Strictly 2023 family, Annabel said: "I have always loved watching Strictly and can’t quite believe I’m going to be part of this magical show – swapping tennis balls for glitter balls and looking forward to finding some joyfulness in the process."
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The news comes just months after her husband Mel Coleman sadly passed away due to cancer back in May.
On the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Annabel explained: “My husband used to love watching Johannes. I just think he’s so amazing, that would be a dream to dance with him.
“I just admire so much what they do and I think dance is really what all of us should be doing every day, it releases so much tension, it gets your body moving, it’s so good for your brain and when you talk about the mental side of everything...
“It has just come at the right time for me and I hope I get rid of any stresses and just go out there and enjoy it.”
How many children does Annabel Croft have?
Annabel has two daughters, Charlie who is 27 years old and Lily, 25.
When on the Virgin radio show, Annabel said she found out she would be taking part in Strictly “in the last few days” and has only recently danced along to the occasional TikTok routine with her children.
Did Annabel Croft play at Wimbledon?
Annabel is a former British Number One tennis player who at 15 years old was the youngest British player to compete at Wimbledon for 95 years.
When it came to competing in some of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments, she made the third round at Wimbledon in 1984 and the US Open in 1986.
She also represented Great Britain in the prestigious Wightman and Federation Cup competitions and continues to play an integral role in the coverage of Wimbledon each year.
Now this is a serve! Wimbledon presenter and former British number one tennis player Annabel Croft is all set for #Strictly 🎾
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) August 10, 2023
👉https://t.co/A4Vm728SXH @Annabel_Croft pic.twitter.com/Q2vMlUAYlQ
Outside of tennis, Annabel has fronted entertainment shows such as Treasure Hunt and Inceptor and has enjoyed a long-lasting broadcast career covering all the major tennis events worldwide.
Her TV and radio career includes presenting, commentating, and working as a highly respected pundit for all the major broadcasters including BBC, Sky, Amazon Prime, ITV and Discovery.
Who is on Strictly 2023? This is the full BBC show line-up
- Sherlock and Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington
- Former newsreader Angela Rippon
- Stage and screen star Layton Williams
- Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy
- Comedian Eddie Kadi
- Irish presenter Angela Scanlon
- Love Island’s Zara McDermott
- Emmerdale and Waterloo Road actor Adam Thomas
- BBC radio presenter Nikita Kanda
- Coronation Street's Ellie Leach
- Paralympic Champion Jody Cundy CBE
- Eastenders star Bobby Brazier
- Casualty star Nigel Harman
- British tennis player Annabel Croft
- Former Family Fortunes host and Coronation Street actor Les Dennis
Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its new series this autumn
Read the rules here