BBC Wimbledon star Annabel Croft has been left devastated after her husband has tragically passed away, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.
The former British tennis star, who hit the world rankings as high as number 24, announced her husband had sadly died just recently, reports Birmingham Live. Annabel had been married to Mel Coleman for over 30 years, before he was diagnosed with the disease.
The 56-year-old said: "My beloved husband Mel passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning after a short battle with cancer.
"My family and I are completely heartbroken and ask for privacy at this very sad time."
Coleman was diagnosed with stage three cancer earlier in 2023, and has sadly died. Annabel married the former professional yachtsman in 1992, who has died aged just 60.
A friend said: "This has come as an extreme shock to everyone – the diagnosis was out of the blue and Mel did not seem unwell at the time. Sadly the cancer progressed brutally... and he passed earlier this week.
"Everyone is devastated and horrified, and Annabel is absolutely shattered. The two of them have been together forever and were a wonderful couple."
The pair have three grown-up children together: Charlie, Amber and Lily.
Speaking about their romance previously, Croft said: "As we were having this chat, I got a text from my mother saying the BBC production office in Belfast were asking whether I'd be interested in filming a programme about yacht racing.
"I'd never been on a yacht before, but it ended up with me, Eamonn Holmes and Peter Skellern going off to Guernsey to shoot a programme where we learnt how to race a yacht.
"Mel, who had just got back from Australia after the America's Cup, was one of the yachtsmen and that is how we met.
"After a day's filming we'd all go to the pub, have dinner – it sounds weird, but I'd never really done that – and I remember thinking, gosh this is really fun and normal, and I want a bit more of this rather than getting up and putting on a tracksuit and stressing about whether my backhand is working today."
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.
