Wimbledon's Annabel Croft recalled how 'cruel' nurse mocked husband's death

Wimbledon presenter Annabel Croft has opened up about a harrowing encounter with a nurse during her husband's final moments, describing the healthcare worker's behaviour as deeply cruel.

Croft's husband, Mel Coleman, died in May 2023 from colon cancer, just sixteen weeks after receiving his diagnosis in March 2023. The banker, with whom Croft shared thirty years of marriage, had three children: Amber, Charlie, and Lily.

Recalling the distressing events leading up to Mel's death, Croft revealed she was haunted by her interaction with a particular nurse who appeared to trivialise her husband's deteriorating condition. While acknowledging many nurses caring for Mel were angels, the former tennis champion condemned one woman for her mocking attitude.

"I've asked myself since if she was a psychopath," Croft told MailOnline. "It felt like it because she seemed to take pleasure in telling Mel he was dying."

When the nurse began discussing palliative care, Croft attempted to intervene privately. "Can you please come over here and talk to me privately first I don't want him to hear this," she said. The nurse refused. "No he is the patient He has to hear that he is dying." When Charlie asked about palliative care and whether his father had months or weeks left, the nurse responded mockingly: "Huh Almost laughing mocking our son No - hours."

The nurse then told Mel they would not resuscitate him if he suffered a heart attack. "This nurse said Listen to me He's got cancer We are not resuscitating him Like she was enjoying it I'm haunted by that So many nights it has kept me awake remembering the tone of her voice It was cruel," Croft explained. Notably, Mel had explicitly opposed a do-not-resuscitate order, a position Croft supported. Three years on, Croft continues to process her grief and move forward.