Annabel Croft embraced the Latin American party atmosphere on Saturday night with her Shakira-inspired samba.
The former tennis player let her hair down as she wowed the judges with her spirited performance at Any Wherever alongside partner Johannes Radebe, 36.
It was a huge change in tone for the star, 57, who last week performed the choice of an elegant contemporary couple in an emotional tribute to her late husband Mel Coleman.
But Annabel unexpectedly rose to the challenge as she made her way through the song.
Impressing the judges, Craig Revel Horwood announced: ‘You’ve finally given yourself permission to let loose.’
Wow: Strictly star Annabel Croft, 57, ‘goes wild’ with spicy samba as she embraced her inner Shakira and let her hair down for final performance on Saturday night
Insane: The former tennis player let her hair down as she wowed the judges with her spirited performance at Any Wherever with partner Johannes Radebe
Both Craig and Motsi Mabuse admitted they were apprehensive about how Annabel would approach the samba and were pleasantly surprised by her performance.
Speaking to Claudia Winkleman after the performance, Annabel talked about how much fun she had during training this week.
Joking about having no choice but to give it her all when dancing next to Johannes, she teased, “When I looked at him, I thought, well, I have to try to at least mirror him!”
And the crowd loved it too as they took to Twitter to congratulate the star.
One wrote: ‘Loved this Samba from @AnnabelCroft & @jojo_radebe. Annabel is getting stronger. I think it was a brilliant routine.”
While another said: ‘Go Annabel you go girl @Annabel_Croft just great to see you dancing into your inner @shakira. She looks great’.
Another wrote: ‘I feel like this is finally @Annabel_Croft’s ‘I AM HERE’ dance on #Strictly’.
Referring to her grief, another noted, “Almost as if she was telling her and her husband’s story last week and decided, okay… onwards and upwards… what have I got to lose? … The worst has happened, so I’ll have a great time.”
Unexpected: Both Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse admitted they were worried about Annabel’s approach to samba and were pleasantly surprised by her performance
She’s arrived: Craig Revel Horwood impressed the judges and announced: ‘You’ve finally given yourself permission to let loose’
Fun: Annabel revealed how much fun she had during training this week as she joked she had no choice but to give it her all as she danced alongside Johannes
Amazing: And the crowd loved it too as they took to Twitter to congratulate the star
Emotional: The former tennis professional brought the nation to tears on Saturday night after her emotional couple’s performance with partner Johannes Radebe, dedicated to her late husband Mel Coleman
It comes after Annabel admitted earlier this week that her dance partner was determined to bring out her sexy side.
Speak with The sun, she confessed: ‘Johannes tries to bring out that sexy side. The plan is for me to channel my inner Shakira, but it’s going to be pretty hard to match her.
‘It’s honestly a bit out of my comfort zone, I’m sweating a lot more than I expected!’
Yet Johannes made it his mission to bring the inner Shakira out of Annabel.
‘I think everyone has a Shakira in them. “Unfortunately we can’t have a few Proseccos before we dance, but I’ve always believed that anyone, if they feel comfortable, can really go for gold,” he said.