There are now 14 celebrities set to join the Strictly Come Dancing family this year, as a sporting superstar will be swapping her tennis rackets for dancing shoes.

Former British Number One tennis player Annabel Croft is the latest addition to the BBC entertainment show after revealing the news on Virgin Radio’s Breakfast show today (August 10).

It comes as EastEnders, Casualty and Downtown Abbey favourite Nigel Harman was also unveiled as a 2023 Strictly contestant on ITV’s Lorraine earlier.

Speaking about heading to the dance floor, Annabel said: "I have always loved watching Strictly and can’t quite believe I’m going to be part of this magical show – swapping tennis balls for glitter balls and looking forward to finding some joyfulness in the process.”

Who is the new Strictly contestant Annabel Croft?

Annabel is a former British Number One tennis player who at 15 years old was the youngest British player to compete at Wimbledon for 95 years.

She also represented Great Britain in prestigious Wightman and Federation Cup competitions, and continues to play an integral role in the coverage of Wimbledon each year.

Outside of tennis, Annabel has fronted entertainment shows such as Treasure Hunt and Inceptor and has enjoyed a long-lasting broadcast career covering all the major tennis events worldwide.

Additionally, her TV and radio career includes presenting, commentating, and working as a highly respected pundit for all the major broadcasters including BBC, Sky, Amazon Prime, ITV and Discovery.

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This is the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 line-up so far

  • Sherlock and Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington
  • Former newsreader Angela Rippon
  • Stage and screen star Layton Williams
  • Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy
  • Comedian Eddie Kadi
  • Irish presenter Angela Scanlon
  • Love Island’s Zara McDermott
  • Emmerdale and Waterloo Road actor Adam Thomas
  • BBC radio presenter Nikita Kanda
  • Coronation Street's Ellie Leach
  • Paralympic Champion Jody Cundy CBE
  • EastEnders star Bobby Brazier
  • Casualty star Nigel Harman
  • British tennis player Annabel Croft

The remaining celebrity contestants joining the new series will be announced in due course.

Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its new series this autumn.