Strictly's Annabel Croft 'sat and cried' before show debut after losing husband

04 November 2023 , 21:59

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Annabel Croft admits she 'sat and cried' before BBC Strictly Come Dancing debut (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Annabel Croft has revealed that she "sat and cried" on the evening before her Strictly Come Dancing debut, after becoming struck by grief for her late husband.

The Wimbledon champion was married to Mel Coleman for 36 years, having met the yachtsman at aged 21 on a programme about sailing. He tragically died aged 60 in May, however, just a few weeks after being diagnosed with state 3 colon cancer. Despite her raw bereavement, Annabel decided to sign up to the glitzy BBC reality series as way to help distract her from her mourning. The 57-year-old has since wowed viewers and judges alike with her impressive performances alongside partner Johannes Radebe, whom she has hailed as 'the most amazing human being.'

Annabel has now opened up about struggling on the night as she prepared for her Strictly debut without Mel, whom she credited as her "biggest supporter" and "protector."

Annabel and Mel had been married for 36 years when he died (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Annabel has admitted she 'sat and cried' the night before her Strictly debut (BBC/Ray Burmiston)

"I just sat and cried," she told OK!. "He gave me confidence. He made things right, always had done. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to say: 'I am really nervous for tomorrow, but I don't have you to make it OK'."

Annabel, who shares children Charlie, Amber and Lily with Mel, went on to describe it as a "weird scenario" to be "about to go out in front of millions of people and be jolly and happy" but to instead be "sobbing, thinking: 'I don't know where you are, Mel. Where have you gone?'" The TV presenter has previously discussed the traumatic ordeal of losing her beloved husband so suddenly, recalling how he'd been the one reassuring her before his death.

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“Poor Mel was the one who’d been told he was going to die, and he was comforting me," she told the MailOnline. "Three months later, I was picking up a death certificate and our three children were having to process the fact their dad’s name was on there."

Annabel Croft has hailed Strictly partner Johannes Radebe as 'amazing' (PA)

Annabel also said that she spiralled into a "freefall" after receiving the devastating news of her husband's terminal illness, describing herself as "one of those wailing women in the hospital car park." She also shared the heart-breaking words said by their 27-year-old son, Charlie, about his father's illness.

"It was as if a hand had come down from the sky and plucked Mel out, leaving our family with a gaping hole that will never be filled."

Annabel has since said she's cried every day since the death of Mel, admitting she "didn't understand what grief was until now."

"I didn’t even understand death, had never thought about it," she continued. "Now I think: ‘God, Mel, you’ve done death. How is that even possible?’ How can I be a widow? We were a team."

Emma Dooney