Annabel Croft lost husband Mel Coleman to cancer earlier this year, and now the Strictly star has said she’d have loved nothing more than for him to get to know her Strictly Come Dancing partner Johannes Radebe.
Appearing on This Morning alongside Johannes today (November 21), Annabel said that she misses her husband “terribly”. She also said that she “really wishes Johannes could have met him”.
As she has previously explained, Annabel commented that Mel enjoyed watching Johannes when the couple would watch Strictly together before his death in May this year at the age of 60.
‘When we’re out there, it’s just you and me’
“It more than lived up to every expectation,” began Annabel, as she discussed dancing during Blackpool Week on Strictly with co-hosts Dermot O’Leary and Rochelle Humes. “Johannes has always said to me, when we’re out there, it’s just you and me – let’s bring everybody to us.”
She said that she felt as if she and Johannes were “floating” while dancing, and joked that it feels like they still are. And, she admitted that watching their dance again brings back “so much emotion”.
Johannes, too, spoke about the significance of Blackpool, describing the week as the “biggest dance date” on the calendar.
Life without husband Mel was ‘never meant to be’ for Strictly star Annabel
Elsewhere in the interview, former tennis pro Annabel spoke of her grief. She said: “I’m not quite sure where I would be at if I hadn’t had this opportunity to dance with Johannes. It has been a horrific year.
It’s given me a purpose to get up in the morning.
“This was never meant to be how life was going to be – I thought I had a future with my husband. I miss him terribly,” she said. Annabel then added: “I so want to speak to him about what we’re doing. I miss his humour.”
She then added: “I really wish that Johannes had met him as I feel like they’d have got on so well. He adored watching Johannes when we used to watch the programme. It’s given me a purpose to get up in the morning.
“Johannes has coped with a lot of grief himself and I think that’s how we understand each other so well.”
Annabel’s tribute left viewers feeling emotional
Earlier this month, Annabel and Johannes left viewers in tears after the tribute she paid to her husband. On November 4, she used the Couples’ Choice dance to pay tribute. And, viewers also saw footage of Annabel taking Johannes to Richmond Park, and the bench she’d sit on every day with Mel.
With Johannes, she did a lyrical dance to the song Wings by Birdy. And particularly after she blew her late husband a kiss, viewers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share the emotion they were feeling.
Annabel and Johannes made it through Blackpool Week. They’re into the 10th week of the competition as one of the final six couples as a result. Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington were eliminated last week, with Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell the other couple in the bottom two.
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