BBC Strictly star Annabel Croft 'at risk of elimination', warns professional

26 October 2023 , 19:22

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BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Annabel Croft's future on Strictly uncertain as pro warns

A former Strictly Come Dancing professional has warned that Annabel Croft could be voted out of the competition soon, calling the TV presenter's days on the show "numbered."

New Zealand ballroom dancer Brendan Cole was let go from the BBC reality series in 2018, fifteen years after becoming the first-ever professional to win with Natasha Kaplinsky.

Despite no longer being in the running for that coveted Glitterball trophy, he has remained an avid Strictly viewer and continues to share his opinions on all its drama. According to Brendan, there are two couples in the competition that are at high risk of elimination.

Brendan Cole, pictured with Camilla Dallerup, was the first professional to win Strictly (PA)

"Annabel and Johannes [Radebe] and Zara and Graziano [Di Prima] days are numbered," the 47-year-old told Sky Bingo.

Annabel, best known for her impressive tennis career, has consistently achieved mediocre scores since her Strictly debut. She received 28 in her first week before plummeting to 22 in her second, after failing to impress the judges with her performance of the Quickstep to Walking on Sunshine. She improved dramatically the following week with her Waltz to Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's and was awarded 30 points, but has yet to beat this score.

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Annabel lost her beloved husband Mel to stomach cancer last May, has previously hailed her Strictly journey for distracting her from her grief.

"I find the performing terrifying. I feel physically sick, but the effort involved means your brain doesn’t have room for anything else," she explained. "It’s bringing joy, or at least a glimmer of it, back into my life… Johannes is like an angel who came into my life to alleviate the pain, a little."

Annabel Croft has hailed Strictly for distracting her from her grief (PA)

Brendan has also shared his thoughts on Angela Rippon's performance in the competition, warning that if the renowned journalist doesn't nail her Latin numbers she's unlikely to win the competition.

"There's a certain freedom that comes within the Latin numbers that you can really exploit in Strictly and I don't know that we've seen that from her yet and if it doesn't come soon, she's not going to get better," he said. He also offered a positive comment on the 79-year-old's dancing, however, hailing her for "embracing what Strictly is."

"She's already really, really good....and I think that's magnificent. I don't think we've seen many contestants like her in terms of that so far," he added.

Brendan also recently confessed that he struggled to work with certain partners, explaining that there was two occasions in particularly where he "strongly" dislike his assigned celebrity.

"I really enjoyed working with half of them and I really hated working with the other half. 60/40 and I’m not sure which way that goes either," he said.

Emma Dooney