Annabel Croft, 57, hosted Wimbledon for the BBC last year, just weeks after losing her husband Mel. Now, as she prepares to return to the tournament, she tells Cole Moreton what helped her through.
Croft, 57, will co-host Wimbledon for the BBC again this year. READ MORE:How is she doing this? Millions of us asked that question as Annabel Croft stepped out on to Centre Court in front of a vast live and television audience at Wimbledon last year to interview the winners, just weeks after losing her beloved husband Mel to cancer.
The pair met in the 80s when Mel Coleman had just taken part in the Americas Cup and Annabel was on the verge of quitting professional tennis, at the young age of 21. ‘He was so laid back and had a great sense of humour. He made everything great.’Mel became her ally as she walked away from the tour and looked for other work. ‘He was with me when I was having freak-outs about speaking in front of people. Mel helped me find the confidence I lacked and enabled me to flourish.
Johannes Radebe has only recently revealed he had to return to South Africa a few weeks before training to bury a cousin, who had taken his own life. He thought about asking not to have a partner and was alarmed to be teamed up with Annabel, given her circumstances. Her husband had been thrilled when Annabel found out she’d be taking over the key role from her friend Sue Barker. So were their three children Amber, Charlie and Lily, all in their twenties. But then Mel, a champion yachtsman and banker who set up tennis academies with his wife, was told he had colon cancer. He died just eight weeks after the diagnosis, at the age of 60.
Does Annabel agree? ‘She’s such a marketing dream, she probably never has to pick up a racket again. But I still love watching her play. She’s such a beautiful, effortless player. I guess it’s for her to figure out what she wants to achieve in the sport and whether she wants to win, but I’ve never doubted her talent.’
Strictly contestants often say such things during the series, but this partnership seems a lasting one. ‘We danced in his solo show at the Palladium on 4 May and it was one of the most incredible experiences. We got a standing ovation before we started, then again when we finished. It was overwhelming.’
She sounds very calm. ‘I want to keep my feet on the ground; you can’t let anything overtake you or you lose track of reality,’ she says. ‘I think nothing compares to losing a partner of 36 years. I won’t get stressed about anything now, because whatever happens won’t be as bad as that or bring him back.’
Annabel describes the alarming reality of travelling around America alone at 15 or 16, having organised her own logistics in the days before the internet and mobile phones. ‘I remember waiting at a Greyhound bus station at three o’clock in the morning with a load of druggies and drunks thinking, “Gosh, I don’t think my parents would think much of this, I’m not going to tell them.”’
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