Annabel Croft had a baby grandson arrive in September 2025. Her daughter Amber, now 31, had a little boy. One of those easy, shining moments of happiness, right? Except it’s not.
Mel Coleman, Annabel’s husband, passed away in May 2023. He was never to meet this grandchild. It’s that kind of thing, which is like a weight that sits on your chest as you’re trying to celebrate.
She’s 59 now; Annabel Croft age puts her at that stage where becoming a grandmother makes sense timeline-wise. She was born on 12th July 1966, so she has lived a fair bit.
She was a professional tennis player when she was barely out of school. Retired at 21. That’s mad young to quit something you’re good at, but she had her reasons.
When Everything Went Wrong For Annabel Croft
Mel Coleman was diagnosed in January 2023 with stage 4 colon cancer.
By May, he was gone. Four months in total. He passed away weeks before their 30th wedding anniversary.
They were married on 10th July 1993 at Brasted St Martins. Nearly three decades together, then boom – cancer comes along and takes him in four months.
The Annabel Croft husband funeral happened soon after May 2023. She has kept most of the details private, which doesn’t surprise me. Not everything has to be public property.
She’s been pretty candid about the grieving, though, saying she still can’t wrap her head around the fact that he is truly gone. “It’s like it’s someone else’s life,” she said at some point. That feeling where your own existence feels borrowed or fake because the person who made it real isn’t there anymore.
They met in 1987, when he taught her to sail for some telly programme or other. He was a proper yachtsman and took part in the America’s Cup, the Admiral’s Cup, and all that serious sailing-type of thing. They were, by all accounts, mad about each other from the word go.
The Kids Lost Their Dad Too
Annabel Croft children are Amber, Charlie, and Lily. When their father died, Amber was 30, Charlie was 28, and Lily was 26. Those are tough ages to lose a parent. You’re old enough to appreciate what you’re losing but young enough that you still need them around.
What made it worse was that they were all away when he died. None of them ever got to say goodbye the way they wanted to. That’s the sort of thing that messes with your head forever, knowing you weren’t there at the end.
Now Amber’s had a baby. Lily got engaged in September 2025 as well and Annabel posted about it on social media, seemed proper chuffed despite everything.
Life keeps throwing these milestones at them and Mel’s not there for any of it. Weddings, babies, all the stuff parents are supposed to see.
Back When She Was Annabel Croft Young
She won Wimbledon Girls’ Tournament in 1984. Won the Australian Girls’ Tournament same year. Represented Great Britain in Fed Cup. Got to third round at Wimbledon in 1984, which was decent going. Then at 21, she packed it in. Just stopped playing professionally.
Moved into presenting after that. Remember Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice flying around in a helicopter? Annabel took over that gig.
She did Interceptor too – that barmy show where people ran around getting shot at with lasers whilst collecting crystals. Peak 90s television that was.
She’s done tennis commentary for BBC, Eurosport, Sky Sports. Makes sense really – you don’t stop knowing about tennis just because you’ve stopped playing it. She’s been part of Wimbledon coverage for years, explaining what’s happening whilst the next generation smacks balls around.
The Annabel Croft tour refers to speaking events she’s doing now. Going around the UK talking about her life, her career, dealing with grief. Theatre appearances, talks, that sort of thing. People seem to appreciate that she’s honest about how difficult everything is.
Is She Seeing Anyone?
Who is Annabel Croft partner gets searched a lot apparently. The answer’s simple; she hasn’t got one. No partner, not dating anyone. Her husband died two years ago and she’s still working through that.
Some people act like two years is ages and she should be over it by now. But that’s not how grief works, is it? You don’t just tick off days on a calendar until you’re magically fine again. Everyone deals with loss differently and Annabel’s been pretty open about still struggling with the whole thing.
That Strictly Thing
In September 2023, four months after Mel died, she signed up for Strictly Come Dancing. Seems bonkers timing when you think about it. Your husband’s just died, you’re absolutely devastated, and you volunteer to learn ballroom dancing on live television every Saturday night.
She needed the distraction, though. Got partnered with Johannes Radebe, made it to the final four, and finished fourth in December 2023. She said afterwards that Strictly saved her sanity. Gave her something to focus on when grief was threatening to drown her completely.
There were moments during the series when she proper broke down. One dance was a tribute to Mel and she sobbed backstage before performing it. But she got through it, showing millions of people watching that you can function whilst grieving even when you’re barely holding yourself together.
Money Doesn’t Fix Anything
Annabel Croft net worth is somewhere around £2-3 million, according to various estimates. That’s from decades of tennis, telly work, commentary, and business ventures. She had a holiday company for a while.
But money doesn’t make losing your husband any easier. She’s talked about maybe selling the house they built together because living there without him feels impossible sometimes. She’s been slowly clearing out his stuff – 16 months that’s taken her because it’s emotionally knackering doing it.
In February 2025, she became a patron of Friends of Richmond Park. Staying connected to the local community, finding purpose in small things. She’s mentioned finding joy in basics now – morning walks, running with mates, having coffee, being with family.
Where She Is Now
October 2025 finds Annabel Croft in this weird in-between space. Grandmother now, which is lovely. Daughter’s getting married. She’s working regularly, doing commentary, appearing at events. From outside looking in, life seems to be moving forward.
Reality’s messier, though. She’s been honest about still being in shock. Still can’t believe Mel’s actually gone. Still processing grief every single day whilst trying to show up for her kids and now her grandchild.
That’s grief for you, though. Life doesn’t stop whilst you’re working through loss. Babies arrive, engagements happen, and work continues. You’re expected to function normally whilst carrying this massive hole where someone used to be.
What’s good about Annabel Croft is that she’s not pretending. She’s not putting on some brave face, acting like everything’s sorted. She’s just getting through each day, finding bits of joy where she can, and being honest about how hard it all is.
The most useful thing she’s doing right now is showing people it’s alright to grieve messily. To struggle publicly. To still be falling apart years after losing someone. Some things don’t get easier with time. They just become more familiar, like old scars that ache when the weather changes.
Annabel Croft grandson will grow up hearing stories about the grandfather he never met. Lily’s wedding will happen and there’ll be an empty seat where Mel should’ve been. These are the realities Annabel’s living with now. Joy and grief all tangled up together, impossible to separate.
She’s handling it with more grace than most people would manage. Not because she’s special or stronger than anyone else, but because that’s all you can do when life throws this stuff at you. Get up each day. Put one foot in front of the other. Try to find reasons to keep going. Some days that’s enough.
