Annabel Croft rehearses two new electrifying dance routines with partner Johannes Radebe ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final

Annabel Croft was lifted into the air by partner Johannes Radebe on Tuesday as they rehearsed ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final.

The former British tennis player, 57, was spotted after being bottom of the leaderboard last week.

She felt comfortable in blue sports leggings that she paired with a matching sweater as she danced with a choreographer for partner Johannes.

Annabel wrapped her arms around her professional partner’s neck before he lifted her over his shoulders and tightened around her.

The pressure is on for the contestants as they learn two new dances ahead of next weekend’s BBC show.

Annabel showed off her beautiful smile as she headed out for the evening after a grueling nine-hour rehearsal.

She dressed warmly in a long black coat from Canada Goose, which she combined with a pair of beige sneakers.

It comes after Annabel and Johannes found themselves bottom of the leaderboard with 33 points last week after dancing the Foxtort to Wicked’s Good.

The pair will compete against Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola, Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, in the hope of making it to the final.

BBC viewers were left furious by Sunday’s ‘pointless’ and ‘boring’ show after Nigel Harman’s departure failed to spark a dance party.

Actor Nigel, 50, had competed in the BBC Latin and ballroom competition alongside professional partner Katya Jones, 34, but withdrew from the series just hours before Saturday’s live show after attempting to perform a stunt during the rehearsals, leaving him with a rib injury.

And the 40-minute results show featured the usual dance-off and musical performances, but the rest of the episode featured interviews and video messages from celebrities in an attempt to fill the time.

Joss Stone sang as Billie Piper and Bear Grylls sent their best wishes, but viewers at home still wanted more.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, someone wrote: “The results show this week is a bit pointless.”

While a second said: ‘Tonight’s whole Strictly Come Dancing show just feels pointless and boring now that there’s no elimination or public voting this week.’

Someone else commented: ‘This week seems quite pointless’.

Nigel’s last-minute exit caused chaos on the show, forcing the usual dance and elimination to be scrapped.

Last week Annabel appeared on This Morning and spoke about her ‘horrific’ year following the sudden death of her beloved husband Mel Coleman.

Mel died in May at the age of 60, just weeks after being diagnosed with stage three cancer. She said she “really wished” he could have met Johannes.

She told presenters Dermot O’Leary and Rochelle Humes: ‘It was a horrific year, it was something I never expected, this was never meant to be how life would be, I thought I had a future with my husband, we been together since i was 21, together 36 years and i miss him terribly, no doubt about it.

‘I really want to talk to him about what we are doing, I miss his humor and I really wish Johannes had met him because I feel like they would get along so well.’