Left ‘completely heartbroken’ when her husband – a vigorous 60-year-old, seemingly in impeccable health – died last year only weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer, she heeded advice from Princess Diana‘s great friend, psychotherapist Julia Samuel, who told her that ‘dance is one of the best things for grief’.
Tennis star-turned-television presenter Annabel Croft duly signed up for Strictly, partnering Johannes Radebe, and left the show’s judges in tears as, after one dance, she blew a kiss heavenward to her late husband, Mel Coleman.
Though denied a place in the final, to viewers’ fury, Annabel, 57, got through those darkest months.
And now, I can disclose, she feels strong enough to part with the house that she and Mel, an America’s Cup and Admiral’s Cup yachtsman – and, she says, ‘a DIY fanatic’ – built nearly 20 years ago.
‘I’m no longer crying every day,’ says Annabel. ‘I’m now ready to sell.’
Mel Colman (left) and Annabel Croft (right) attend the British Ballet Charity Gala in 2021
With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, conservatory and, of course, an all-weather tennis court, the house in Surrey is likely to sell for more than £6 million
It was with their three young children in mind that the couple bought a dilapidated house in Surrey in 2001, intending to pull it down and build their own dream home.
The house had been let to students who’d left a tap on and flooded it. In the end, she and Mel built a beautifully proportioned neo-classical house. With six bedrooms, five bathrooms, conservatory and, of course, an all-weather tennis court, it’s likely to sell for more than £6 million.
Annabel hopes to find somewhere smaller, close to what she calls her ‘tennis family’ at Wimbledon, where she’ll be commentating on this year’s championship.
She says of her beloved Mel: ‘[He’s] the last person I think of when I go to sleep and the first when I wake up’.