When Tess Daly announced on Saturday night’s Strictly that Pete Wicks was through to the quarter finals, even he thought she had made a mistake.
Bottom of the scoreboard for the third time in four weeks, Pete thought his time on the BBC dance show was up. The charming, long-haired reality TV star, who made his name on The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE), took the view that the dreaded dance-off was inevitable, not least because he was the worst celebrity performer.
Pete, 36, and his professional partner Jowita Przystal scored just 29 out of 40 for their tango to Phil Collins and Philip Bailey’s Easy Lover, while rival celebrities Montell Douglas (who scored 37) and Jamie Borthwick (32) instead faced the head-to-head performance.
And it was EastEnders actor Jamie and his partner Michelle Tsiakkas who were booted off.
Pete told Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two: ‘I’ve thought I was going [home] since week one, so every week is a surprise, but that is possibly the biggest shocker of the lot.’
Explaining his obvious surprise on the night, he added: ‘I didn’t really understand as we were in the last two and I thought they meant that Montell had gone through.’
As the final three weeks of Strictly loom, Pete, the least accomplished dancer, is through to the quarter final and might even have a chance of lifting the glitterball.
Comments from the show’s judges suggest he has long reached the limits of his dancing ability. But, as the public vote has shown, viewers have gone wild for him – particularly Strictly’s female fans. ‘Everyone is a bit taken aback by the Pete phenomenon,’ said a Strictly insider. ‘If it was based on the judges, there is no way he’d still be there.
Viewers have gone wild for Pete Wicks – particularly female fans – for his performances with Strictly pro Jowita Przystal
Most recently Pete’s been linked to Love Island favourite Maura Higgins, who is currently competing on I’m A Celebrity
If the rumours are to be believed, Pete and Jowita, seen leaving a north London dance studio together, have become rather close
So just what is the attraction of ‘Pirate Pete’, the scruffy, tattooed womaniser? His nickname comes from his supposed resemblance to Johnny Depp’s character Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean, and those who know him say he is ‘totally charismatic’ and ‘a very cheeky rascal’.
With his brooding glare and shaggy mane of hair draped on muscular shoulders, Pete – known as something of a heart-breaker in showbiz circles – looks more like a wrestler than a ballroom dancer.
‘The female viewers just seem to absolutely love him,’ said the insider. ‘A lot of the Strictly audience probably hadn’t heard of him because he’s from TOWIE but he’s won them over instantly.
‘Even the women in the studio are swooning – the crew and audience members. It looks as though even the Strictly fans can’t resist a bad boy.’ Indeed, hundreds of comments on social media reveal the popularity of ‘The Pirate’ with the show’s female audience. One user wrote: ‘Watching Pete Wicks’s thighs is making my Saturday nights.’
Another said: ‘Good lord, Pete Wicks brings sexy every single week.’
Even show matriarch Shirley Ballas has struggled to hide the twinkle in her eye while casting her judgmental gaze over Pete. The show’s head judge was accused by fans of over-marking the hunky star, handing him an eight compared to a low of four from another judge in week nine.
She told him: ‘Your hips were swinging left and right. It was very entertaining. I don’t think I’m going to forget this evening for a long time.’ Not that Pete would have been shocked. Once dubbed TV’s biggest Lothario, he has boasted of having threesomes in past relationships and even pursuing Carol Vorderman, 63, after she admitted to enjoying liaisons with younger men.
Pete first found fame in 2015 as a regular on ITV2’s TOWIE, where he became known for his fiery romance with co-star Megan McKenna and an endless stream of cheating claims. Since then he has dated a string of glamorous reality television stars, including Love Island’s Amber Davies and Megan Barton-Hanson, as well as TOWIE co-star Chloe Sims.
Last year, after flying out to Australia to support his friend Sam Thompson on I’m A Celebrity, he was seen flirting with actress Danielle Harold after she was evicted from the show.
Most recently he’s been linked to another Love Island favourite Maura Higgins, who is currently competing in the Jungle.
But those who know Pete say his image is far more carefully constructed than bystanders might think. In what may be another clever move to keep him on Strictly, he appears to be utilising a circle of popular showbiz friends, including I’m A Celebrity winner Sam, 32, his partner – ex-Strictly star Zara McDermott, 27 – and another former I’m A Celebrity winner, Vicky Pattison, 37, to help him connect with fans.
Between them, the tight-knit circle boast an astonishing 13 million followers on Instagram alone – using it at every opportunity to support Pete and keep him in the competition.
And then there is Jowita. In a series where the male professional dancers are careful about their behaviour around celebrity partners following scandals involving Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, the female pros don’t appear to have the same scruples.
Each weekend Jowita is seen being very touchy feely with Pete, usually rubbing his arms as they take their places on the dance floor.
But then if the rumours are to be believed, they have become rather close – with Pete apparently in a love triangle with Maura and Jowita. Maura, 34, insists she’s single – and Pete’s publicist is more than happy for viewers to think he and Jowita are dating.
As one insider put it: ‘The chemistry between them has been electric for weeks but it has really started to grow now. Everyone can see it – they can’t take their hands off each other.’
Polish beauty Jowita, 30, who has also dated former Strictly dancer Pernice, may find Pete isn’t suitable for a long-term romance. As one friend of his friends tells me: ‘He wants people to think he’s a cheeky rascal, he rarely commits.
‘He’s good fun to start with and then it ends in heartbreak, but women just love the bad boy vibe he puts out there.’
And millions of them, it seems, are Strictly viewers, voting each week to keep Pirate Pete on the show.