Who is Annabel Croft? Meet the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 contestant and tennis icon
The judges have been finding the sportswoman increasingly impressive in the competition so far.
The Strictly Come Dancing semi-final is here, and returning to the dance floor is former tennis ace Annabel Croft.
Croft will be hoping to climb up the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 leaderboard after finishing at the bottom in Week 11.
There were no eliminations in the quarter-finals, after Nigel Harman was forced to pull out of the show due to an injury.
The pressure is certainly on this weekend, as only three celebs will progress to the final.
So, could this be the weekend that Annabel rises to the top?
The Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances for the semi-final have been revealed, and like the rest of the couples, Annabel and Johannes will be performing two dances - a salsa to You'll Be Mine (Party Time) by Gloria Estefan and a Viennese waltz to Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by Slow Moving Millie.
She'll have Layton Williams to beat, who currently sits at the top of the scoreboard after scoring the first 40 of the season.
As the semi-final gets underway, read on for everything you need to know about Annabel Croft - one of the four remaining celebs in the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 line-up.
Who is Annabel Croft?
Age: 57
Job: Former British Number One tennis player and presenter
Instagram: @annabel_croft
Twitter: @Annabel_Croft
Strictly partner: Johannes Radebe
Annabel Croft is a former British Number One tennis player. At 15, she became the youngest British player to compete at Wimbledon for 95 years, going on to achieve a world ranking of 24 at the height of her tennis career.
She won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain at various prestigious competitions, including Wightman and several Federation Cups. She retired from professional tennis at the age of 21 and went on to work as a radio and television presenter, playing an integral role in Wimbledon coverage since.
Croft has also presented the likes of Treasure Hunt and Inceptor, and works as a pundit for broadcasters such as BBC, Sky, Amazon Prime, ITV and Discovery.
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Annabel Croft's Strictly journey so far
Scoreboard
Week One: Cha Cha (7+7+7+7) = 28
Week Two: Quickstep (4+6+6+6) = 22
Week Three: Waltz (8+8+7+7) = 30
Week Four: Jive (7+7+7+8) = 29
Week Five: Charleston (5+7+7+8) = 27
Week Six: Tango (7+7+7+8) = 29
Week Seven: Couple's Choice (8+9+9+9) = 35
Week Eight: Samba (7+8+8+8) = 31
Week Nine: American Smooth (8+9+9+9) = 35
Week 10: Paso Doble (8+9+9+10) = 36
Week 11: Foxtrot (8+8+8+9) = 33
So far in the competition, the couple have had a pretty stead performance. Their Week Six tango to Need U Tonight by INXS for Halloween Week earned them 29 points, while their Charleston to Ladies Night by Kool & The Gang in Week Five saw them earning 27 points.
In Week Three, Annabel and Johannes dazzled with their energetic jive to Feel It Still by Portugal, The Man, scoring 29 points and placing sixth on the leaderboard.
In Week 10, Annabel and her professional dance partner Johannes Radebe scored 36 points for their paso doble to España Cañi by Trad, her first 10 and highest score of the series.
Weeks before, the dancing duo moved the audience and judges alike with their poignant and affecting dance to Wings by Birdy, during which Annabel paid tribute to her late husband, Mel Coleman, who died earlier this year, months after being diagnosed with cancer.
What has Annabel Croft said about joining Strictly 2023?
Speaking of joining the Strictly line-up, Croft 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."
Having won ITV's one-off Celebrity Wrestling in 2005, it appears Croft is no stranger to stepping out of her comfort zone, and she certainly sounds ready to put on those dancing shoes.
Ahead of Croft's appearance on the shiny dance floor, Strictly Come Dancing podcast host Joe Sugg caught up with the tennis player and revealed one thing she is looking forward this Strictly season.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Joe Sugg said: "With this experience, she just wants to completely take away that sort of competitive nature and actually go into it just embracing the experience and having fun with it, which is exactly what the show is about and actually I think that a lot of the time, that's what takes you further into the competition is when the public can really see that you are really just enjoying the whole process."
When does Strictly Come Dancing 2023 air?
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 airs every weekend on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosting the show, and Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas returning to the judging panel.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 9th December at 7:35pm on BBC One.
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