Annabel Croft spent 10 days living in a tent on London streets after being left homeless

Former British tennis star Annabel Croft once spent 10 days living on the streets of London. The 59-year-old will conduct interviews ahead of the men's and women's Wimbledon finals this weekend. However, for the BBC's Famous, Rich and Homeless docu-series in 2009, Croft joined several volunteers who traded their luxurious lifestyles for an experience of extreme poverty.

Croft made quite the impression on SW19's courts in her day. She reached the third round in 1984 and also completed her career with a singles track record of 49-68 with one WTA title to her name. Yet she temporarily abandoned her lavish six-bedroom abode to sleep in shop doorways for a week and a half. The Wimbledon pundit was joined in the ordeal by Hardeep Singh Kohli, Rosie Boycott, Bruce Jones and the Marquis of Blandford.

However, nothing could have prepared the tennis pundit for life on the streets. In a Daily Mail column published the same year as the series, Croft recalled a terrifying moment when she was nearly killed.

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."

The ordeal left Croft "scared witless", and she even contemplated abandoning the documentary after her brush with death. However, she resolved to carry on until the end.

She ultimately encountered people from all walks of life, some of whom selflessly offered assistance. 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."

Following the show, Croft delved deeper into the issue with her BBC Radio 5 Live show, James: My Alcoholic Friend, which revolved around her efforts to reconnect with one of the rough sleepers she had spent time with on Famous, Rich and Homeless.