West Heath Old Girls Association

Annabel Croft was in the headlines again in June (2024) but this time for more alarming reasons when a mugger attempted to steal her mobile phone on a London street.

During an interview on ITV’s This Morning programme, the former tennis player turned TV presenter who became one of the stars of 2023’s Strictly Come Dancing, described how she had arrived in the UK on her way back from working at the French Open Tennis Tournament and had used an App to order a taxi close to King’s Cross St Pancras.

Annabel, who attended West Heath in the early 80s, said: “I was standing on my own at about 11pm, looking down at the App on my phone trying to see how far away my taxi was. I saw this biker coming towards me and wasn’t really taking much notice of him.”

The cyclist then rode straight at Annabel and her phone was ripped out of her hand.

Despite being shocked and frightened, Annabel said her first thought was to chase after the cyclist because ‘these days, our whole lives are on our phones’.

The mugger, in his haste to escape, dropped the phone and was put off riding back to retrieve it when another man came to Annabel’s aid.

In an Instagram update, Annabel wrote: “I just wanted to warn people who are on their own in London. I just got mugged waiting for a taxi outside King’s Cross St Pancras.

“The man was riding a bike and wearing a black balaclava. He rode straight at me and took my phone clean out of my hands. He rode away with it but luckily dropped my phone, so I got it back. Terrifying!

“On a positive note, there are some lovely people out there. Luckily a lovely gentleman witnessed it and came over to help me. Thank you to whoever you are.”