Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft reveals plans for her first Christmas without her husband

Annabel Croft wants to “do something different” on her first Christmas without her husband.

The 57-year-old tennis legend was married to Mel Coleman – who died earlier this year aged 60 after a short battle with cancer – and has children Amber, 27, Charlie, 26, and Lily, 24, with him. However, she admitted her time on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing is now over and she must now face the prospect of her first Christmas without him.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, Annabel, who came fourth in the BBC Latin and ballroom dancing show, told stand-in presenter Ranvir Singh: “It's a bit weird. My feet will be back on earth pretty quickly. I haven't even had time to think for a moment because, as I said on the show, every day it has given me a reason to get out of bed in the morning and go and see [professional partner] John [Radebe]put on my dance gear. My kids were a huge part of the whole thing and I really couldn't have done it without them.

“Johannes came to our house often and they loved him, he loved them. We hope this will be the start of a lifelong friendship, but this Christmas will be a little strange.

“I never would have believed… we had a normal family Christmas last year, and I never would have believed that a year later my husband would no longer be here.

“It's horrible – it's hard to put into words, but we're going to try and do something different this year. Nobody wanted to be in the house. Mel was always carving the turkey, making the ham and was always busy pottering around in the kitchen.”

The sports star, who will appear on the live tour of Strictly Come Dancing in 2024, then paid tribute to 33-year-old professional dancing dancer Amy Dowden, who had to take time off from the show this year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, but was able to return for a guest appearance on Saturday's (16.12.23) finale after completing treatment.

Annabel said: “She got a huge round of applause when the lights came up for the group dance. She's had a really tough time recently and it's just wonderful to see her out there enjoying herself. Of course she had a foot injury too. I just couldn't believe she was up there dancing so loudly, it was fantastic. I wish her all the best and all the best.”