Strictly was my THERAPY

Almost a year since losing her beloved husband to cancer, former tennis ace Annabel Croft opens up about grief, the 'chaos' of motherhood and the idea of replacing Wimbledon icon Sue Barker

Two days before Annabel Croft’s early Sunday morning cover shoot, she sat down with Princess Diana’s former therapist to speak about losing her husband to cancer. And since meeting with Julia Samuel, a psychologist and grief therapist, Annabel understands why competing in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing series was the right decision to help heal her heart.

‘She said, “You do realise that dance is one of the best things for grief?” I didn’t know that, but I can see that now, having done it,’ explains Annabel, 57, who reached the seminal in the hit BBC1 show, alongside pro dancer Johannes Radebe.

‘You’re distracting your brain, so you’re not wallowing and sobbing all day. It doesn’t stop [grief] completely and there were times when Johannes had to cope with that, but he's been through a lot of grief recently himself, so we were aligned.' She adds, 'Strictly and Johannes were my therapy.' Former yachtsman Mel Coleman died last May at the age of 60, just 16 weeks after scans revealed that colon cancer had spread 'everywhere' through his body.

On location with W&H close to the Surrey home where she and Mel raised their now grown-up children, Amber, 29, Charlie, 27, and Lily, 25, Annabel points out it was 'this time last year', while she was covering the Australian Open, that her husband of 31 years began complaining of side pains.

'I thought it was indigestion, then he kept saying the pains weren't going away,' says Annabel, describing the heart-aching speed of Mel's decline. ‘One moment we were having a normal Christmas and New Year, and then, suddenly, by May, [he was] dead. I still and it really hard to process. It’s like it’s somebody else’s life.’