Pete Wicks confesses he was 'semi-forced' to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing

Virgin Radio

3 Sep 2024, 14:23

Pete Wicks made his name on The Only Way is Essex and is set to don the sequins for Strictly Come Dancing, but it very nearly didn't happen.

Pete has gone and admitted he was “semi-forced” to sign up to the dance show, and fellow podcast host and I'm A Celebrity star Sam Thompson is partly to blame.

The 22nd series of Strictly is due to start soon.

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It launches in just under two weeks, and Pete has been sharing his nerves on his podcast called Staying Relevant.

He told Sam that it was down to him and his manager to persuade him to say yes to taking part in Strictly.

“It's the last thing I think anyone would ever think I would do,” he said. “I've never thought about doing it. I've never really watched Strictly. You do like a taster day where I had to see how I got on for an hour with one of the pros.

“And I am going to be honest with you, I went because I was semi-forced by my management and Sam and anyone else obsessed with Strictly. And I did the taster and I f***ing loved it. I genuinely loved it.”

He also confessed to some serious nerves about how the public will receive him, and also what he's going to wear.

“So many people are gonna watch, but they're people who don't know. They're gonna f***king hate me,” he shared. “You also see the costume team and they discuss what you like wearing, what you're comfortable in and how far you'd like to go with it.

“I spoke to my management beforehand and they said to me, ‘In for a penny, in for a pound.’ So the costume lady was like, 'We're going to have some fun.' I instantly regretted saying that,” he joked.

“I'm 36, and I haven't been to a gym in eight years. I broke three ribs [on SAS: Who Dares Wins] and my ribs are still broken, which is going to be a pain. I feel sorry for whoever my partner is. I have an issue with having to get things right, so I know what people say – when they do these things – that you can practise as much as you want.”

We can't wait to see how Pete gets on.