BBC Strictly Come Dancing star admits 'it's terrifying' as she marks career first
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft admitted, "It's terrifying", as she marked a career first. The former tennis player competed on the 21st series of Strictly with her professional partner Johannes Radebe.
The fan-favourite pair made it to the semi-final, finishing in fourth place behind winning couple Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.
Now, Annabel is hitting the road for a 28-date tour across England, Scotland and Wales.
Her debut tour, which is titled From Tennis Balls to Glitter Balls, begins next month, and will take audiences behind the scenes of the world's greatest tennis tournaments, as well as exploring Annabel's time on Strictly.
(Image: BBC)
Annabel appeared on The One Show on Wednesday (August 6), where she spoke to hosts Alex Jones and Vernon Kay about her new career venture.
"I've been asked to do a speaking tour around the country from middle to late September till November, and it's new territory for me because I've never done anything like that before," she explained.
"I have done speeches and things, but it's a chance for me to talk about what does it take to go from being a little girl as I was at nine, picking up a racket for the first time.
"What does it take, sort of the apprenticeship of going on that journey to then make it to Wimbledon, and then retiring at 21 and moving into broadcasting, interviewing all these wonderful great champions.
"And how did that lead me to Strictly Come Dancing. So, it's kind of a tour to look back and reflect on my life."
(Image: BBC)
The 59-year-old went on to share her pride at embracing public speaking after previously struggling with her confidence, which she described as "terrifying".
"When I look back at speaking, it was actually something I was very fearful of when I was younger. I used to almost hyperventilate and have a complete panic attack about speaking publicly," she candidly said.
"It's funny for me now thinking, 'Well, I'm going to do a speaking tour'. And it's like, 'How on earth have I come such a big circle?' To be able to have the confidence."
Ahead of this year's series, speculation has been mounting about which celebrities will grace the dancefloor. Current cast rumours include Love Island's Dani Dyer, Olympic legend Mo Farah and Corrie star Helen Flanagan.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this autumn
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