Annabel Croft's bond with Johannes Radebe

Annabel Croft wanted to win 'Strictly Come Dancing' for Johannes Radebe.

Although the former tennis star initially didn't think she had any chance at claiming the glitterball trophy, getting through each week made her hopeful that she could finally help professional partner Johannes win the top prize.

She told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "'I never, EVER looked at the Glitterball and thought, 'I want to win that' [but] when we stayed in week after week, I did start to think, 'Gosh, is it possible?'.

"If it was possible, I wanted to win, not just for myself, but for Johannes, because I knew what it would mean to him. Winning 'Strictly' would have been his Wimbledon, and I wanted to give that to him.

"He was really devastated, much more so than I was. I thought we'd done amazingly well, way more than I ever anticipated, but he thought we could do it."

And, Annabel, 57, wanted to win to thanks Johannes for helping her through her grief after losing her beloved husband Mel to colon cancer in May.

She said: "He was always proud of everything I did. I just wish he could have been here to see it. And to meet Johannes. That's a big regret, that they never got to meet, because they would have roared with laughter together.

"I got terribly nervous before every performance, particularly in the early weeks. I'd never have been able to do it if I hadn't had at least one member of my family in the audience, but even when they said, 'Just enjoy it, Mum', you can't.

"Your heart beats so fast you think you are going to have a heart attack. I'm sure that if the camera had come in close you would have seen my heart pounding.

"Johannes would feel it. He would say, 'I don't like how fast your heart is racing – we have to get that heart rate down', and he'd take me in hold and make me breathe with him, and I could actually feel my heart rate lower.

"I came to trust him completely. He's also the best hugger in the world – he has these strong arms that just wrap themselves around you and take away all the pain.

"The thing that has most surprised me was how much I have laughed over the past weeks. When Mel died, I didn't think I would ever laugh, or feel joy, again. But during our training I would end up in hysterics about something."