Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks has broken his silence amid the backlash he received for his Cha Cha over the weekend with partner Jowita Przystal.
The couple took to the Blackpool dancefloor and performed to I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred – which left Shirley Ballas hot under the collar but others relatively unimpressed.
Craig Revel Horwood was less than impressed compared to Ballas and was more focused on the dancing rather than the raunchy outfit when giving his comments – claiming Wicks had to “fight” every stage of the dance.
During Sunday night’s results show, Wicks and Przystal were left stunned when Tess Daly revealed they had made it through to another week in the competition despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 27 out of a possible 40.
Despite some applauding Wicks’ effort, many felt the show had been “fixed” and claimed it should have been Wicks to be sent home.
Instead, it was Wynne Evans and Montell Douglas who had to battle it out in the dreaded dance-off, with the latter being sent through to the next stage of the competition thanks to a unanimous vote from the judges.
Amongst the backlash to the result, one noted on X: “Pete through, that’s ridiculous. Someone must have spent a toy of money on the phone lines. The worse dance of the night.”
Another added: “Craig was literally the only sane person when ‘judging’ Pete this week. Genuinely didn’t deserve to stay on after the performance that was given. But hey…he’s popular right so that’s what counts.”
“How is Pete Wicks getting these votes, truly? And Wynn not winning the dance-off is down to the judges being biased,” a third penned.
Wicks has since spoken out against the backlash, posting an image of himself and Przystal on Instagram alongside the caption: “Humbled. Overwhelmed. Grateful.”
The heartfelt statement went on: “I’m well aware I’m not a good dancer, but I am trying. Every week @jowitaprzystal and I just want to make the most of what we can.
“We take it day by day, week by week. I know VERY little about dancing but what I have learnt is that it’s about letting go and throwing yourself at it no matter what level of skill/talent you may or may not have.
“I know I make mistakes, I know I don’t have rhythm and I’m wooden but I won’t stop trying. I’ve tried my best from day 1 and I’ll continue to try my best for as long as I’m allowed to be part of the show.
“Your support has been mind-blowing and each week you continue to show @jowitaprzystal and I love and we couldn’t be any more grateful. It’s down to you that we have managed to make it to week 10. THANK YOU.
“I promise you will never see me in latex again,” the reality star signed off.
Many of Wicks’ co-stars were quick to praise his performance and effort, including the recently eliminated professional Katya Jones who said: “Keep going team!!”
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Tasha Ghouri penned: “Those hips don’t lieeee!!! Proud of you! You went out there, went for it and embraced it all .”
His best friend and current I’m A Celebrity champion Sam Thompson expressed: “You deserve to be there brother! Never feel otherwise.” (sic)
After hearing they’d made it through to Week 10 of the competition, Wicks told Strictly host Claudia Winkleman: “I don’t know why, I don’t even wanna see me dance. I cannot believe it.”
Dance partner Przystal was similarly shocked by the result, joking that the pair of them had “written speeches” to say farewell.
