STRICTLY Come Dancing star Annabel Croft has broken her silence after being axed from the show last night ahead of the 2023 final.
The former tennis player was booted from the BBC competition alongside pro partner Johannes Radebe following a dance-off against Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell.
Addressing her emotional exit in a lengthy post on Instagram, Annabel admitted her sadness at her Strictly journey coming to an end.
The 57-year-old also thanked the crew and her co-stars – and even the judges – after they failed to put her and Johannes through with their Salsa to the song You'll Be Mine (Party Time) by Gloria Estefan.
She said: "I have learnt to love ballroom and that’s all down to Johannes for being such an amazing, patient and genius teacher.
"Strictly really has been so life changing! When I think back to week 1, I was apprehensive and terrified… a bit like a rabbit in the headlights. But Strictly has brought me out of my shell and allowed me to discover things about myself that I never knew.
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"I went through a lot of different emotions and I thank EVERYONE, friends, family, viewers, colleagues, who supported us both, along the way, because it’s all of you, who have kept us going and enabled us to get this far. We really appreciate it."
Annabel, whose husband Mel Coleman sadly passed away in May, continued: "I’m not sure where I would be at mentally, had I not taken on this challenge and pushed myself out of my comfort zone and I am so appreciative that Strictly gave me this opportunity, at this time in my life."
Her post came hours after Shirley Ballas sparked a fresh sexism row during the show's semi-final.
In the early stages of the BBC1 show, Shirley gave the lowest scores out of all four judges to former newsreader Angela Rippon, 79, former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach, 22, and media personality Zara McDermott, 26.
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Judges Motsi Mabuse, 42, and Anton Du Beke, 57,voted to save Bobby, while hard-to-please Craig Revel Horwood, 58, had backed Annabel and Johannes.
Craig said of the two performances: “One dance was flashy, one dance was quiet.
“I think both couples have equalised completely. I saw improvement in this one couple.
“Based on this dance, and nothing in the past but this dance alone, the person which I think had the most exquisite technique is Annabel and Johannes.”
But delivering her decision, Shirley said: “I thought both couples were absolutely extraordinary.
"I felt that both couples lifted their performance. I thought there was technical qualities on both sides, improvements galore.
“But again one tiny mistake coming out of a pivot turn — and therefore my decision would be to save Bobby and Dianne.”
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola, 31, and Bad Education star Layton Williams, 29, and Nikita Kuzmin, 25, will join Bobby and Dianne in the final.
Last year, she was criticised for saying she would have saved BBC TV and radio personality Richie Anderson, 36, when the other judges saved singer-songwriter Fleur East, 36.
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However, a Strictly source previously said: “All of the judges are hugely experienced individuals who judge on dance and dance alone.
“Any conspiracy theories circulating via social media suggesting otherwise are simply untrue.”
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