Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft has broken down in tears after speaking about her disappointment at just missing out on a place in the final.

The former tennis professional, 57, signed up for the BBC programme after herhusband Mel Coleman died of colon cancer in May aged 60, just weeks after he was diagnosed.

She was paired with pro dancer Johannes Radebe, 36, with the couple making it all the way to the semi-final before being sent home on Sunday night.

Their elimination came after an unfortunate faux pas in one routine which saw her skid across the floor.

She’s now spoken more about the devastation about failing to make the final while reflecting on the experience.

During an appearance on It Takes Two with Johannes, Annabel said it was ‘hard not to feel dazed’ by the past few months.

Strictly star Annabel Croft and dance partner Johannes Radebe have broken down on air (Picture: BBC)

As clips of them on the show played, in which Annabel had told her partner he’d given her ‘a reason to get out of bed’, she started to tear up.

‘Oh, that is quite hard [to watch],’ she said.

Asked by host Fleur East about what he would miss most about Annabel, Johannes said it was ‘her smile’.

‘Every day you walked into that studio and how eager you were to learn how to dance, and you were not here for the glory of it all and I hope you know how proud I am of you,’ he told Annabel.

Their emotional It Takes Two appearance came a few days after their elimination (Picture: PA)

‘So, thank you for every day my darling.’

Annabel then explained how difficult it was to watch back their time on the show because it was ‘a rollercoaster ride’.

‘We laughed hysterically through many rehearsals and cried a lot and went through the motions together, so it has been the most extraordinary journey,’ she said.

‘You are the most amazing teacher. You’re passion and detail, you are extraordinary.’

She went on to explain how she felt she’d won the Glitterball Trophy as she had ‘this enormous ball of glitter next to me’.

‘From the moment we met it was like we’d won because I had the most amazing partner,’ she said, as Johannes then started to cry.

Earlier in the show, the pair had both said they were both upset to have missed out on making it to the final.

‘It’s just been the most magical 12 weeks. I enjoyed so much from it, from start to finish,’ she said.

The pair just missed out on a spot in the final (Picture: PA)

‘If someone had said to me you might get to week 12, I’d have never believed it. I’m a little bit sad that I couldn’t get us to the final and of course, we’d have loved to get through, but we had some stiff competition.’

Meanwhile he added: ‘I was extremely disappointed but like Annabel said, we did have some stiff competition.

‘I’m happy for what we had, I’m very content, but I would have loved to take Annabel to the final.’

The three stars in the running to take out this season are EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, Coronation Street’s Ellie Leach and Bad Education’s Layton Williams.

The Strictly Come Dancing final airs Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.

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‘That is quite hard to watch.’