Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks has spoken candidly about the health scares he endured on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, as his current dance competition run continues to impress. The 36-year-old former Towie favourite and his professional partner Jowita Przystal scored 29 points for their Quickstep to The Jam's 'A Town Called Malice', with viewers praising his marked improvement.
Wicks previously revealed that his time on the Channel 4 show in 2022 took a painful turn when he broke ribs during a helicopter jump. He admitted he had felt overconfident beforehand, saying: "I genuinely thought this would be the challenge for me to show what I've got. I got it wrong, I got it very wrong." The reality star described how his leg became caught on the bag, causing him to crash down, knock himself out, and struggle to move his upper body afterwards.
The plucky contestant returned for this year's series of Celebrity SAS, but collapsed while pulling a sledge up a snowy mountain. Show expert Mark 'Billy' Billingham reportedly feared he might not finish the challenge. Wicks later told The Sun: "I just pushed myself to a limit and I was very dehydrated", adding humorously that he was "the only person that gets heat exhaustion in the snow".
Despite these setbacks, Wicks' fortunes on Strictly have been far more promising, with his latest score marking a personal best. The pair's on-screen chemistry has sparked speculation of a romance, but Wicks was quick to deny any kiss with dance partner Jowita Przystal, insisting it was simply choreography. On his podcast 'Staying Relevant', he said: "Everyone watched it on TV. They called it a 'passionate kiss', it's the choreography, and we didn't."
The star also addressed the 'bad boy' reputation he earned from his years on Towie, maintaining that he has changed as a person. "The person I am now is different to the person I was 11 years ago," he told podcast co-host Sam Thompson, adding that he continues to evolve.
