Former British tennis player Annabel Croft once endured 10 days living rough on the streets of London. The 59-year-old will carry out interviews ahead of the men's and women's Wimbledon finals this weekend.
Documentary Experience
For the BBC's Famous, Rich and Homeless documentary series in 2009, Croft was among several volunteers who swapped their comfortable lifestyles for an encounter with severe deprivation. She temporarily left behind her home to sleep in shop doorways for a week and a half. The Wimbledon commentator was accompanied in the challenge by Hardeep Singh Kohli, Rosie Boycott, Bruce Jones and the Marquis of Blandford.
Croft left quite a mark on SW19's courts during her playing days. She progressed to the third round in 1984 and finished her career with a singles record of 49-68 and one WTA title.
Near-Fatal Incident
In a Daily Mail column published the same year as the programme, Croft recounted a frightening incident when she narrowly escaped death. She wrote: "Slowly, I made it to the Strand in time to make the food drop from a van provided by a charity called the Simon Community. When I got there, an old battleaxe of a woman demanded, 'What are you doing here?' I said I just wanted a cup of tea but she said I was unwelcome."
"She had spotted Fiona, my camerawoman, and clearly wanted to provoke a fight. I was still trying to get some tea when two Polish guys came at me from nowhere. Fiona and I were both protected - from a distance - by a security guard, Stuart Cleverley. Within moments he was by my side, grabbed me by the arm and whisked me away from my argument. Only when we were 30 yards clear did he tell me that one of the men had pulled out a knife and was inches away from stabbing me in the back."
Impact and Reflection
The harrowing experience left Croft "scared witless", and she even considered pulling out of the documentary following her near-fatal encounter. Nevertheless, she decided to see it through to completion. She went on to meet people from every corner of society, some of whom generously provided help. She said: "On so many occasions I have walked past homeless people and thought, 'Oh, for goodness sake, you are so young. Get up and go and get a job.' But no one will employ a person who has no address, who can't prove who they are. It's a vicious circle."
After the programme aired, Croft explored the subject further with her BBC Radio 5 Live show, James: My Alcoholic Friend, which centred on her attempts to track down one of the rough sleepers she had befriended during Famous, Rich and Homeless.
