BBC Strictly's Pete Wicks lifts lid on severe accident and health struggles ahead of show
Former TOWIE star Pete Wicks has opened up about a terrifying health scare he suffered earlier this year, which left him 'struggling to move' and in need of medical attention.
Strictly: Pete Wicks nearly trips Jowita up
Strictly Come Dancing favourite Pete Wicks has recounted a chilling episode from 2022 when he suffered a frightening accident involving a lake that saw him "struggling to move" after rendering himself unconscious.
Pete, who is best known for his TOWIE fame, endured crippling injuries, including broken ribs, while braving a helo-cast task for Celebrity SAS, which demanded he leap from a helicopter.
On recollecting the terrifying event, the Strictly contestant said: "I had no worries about that challenge, which is the weirdest thing. My strongest thing is probably swimming."
Despite his assurance to excel, he conceded: "I genuinely thought this would be the challenge for me to show what I f****** got and I got it wrong, I got it very wrong. I think my leg got a little bit caught in the bag and I went straight down onto the bag, knocked myself out and broke my ribs."
Regarding the painful consequence of his plunge, he disclosed to fans: "I felt dazed and confused. I was struggling to move my upper body. Basically, I think where I'd hit the bag, and I think just the impact of being unconscious and everything else, I was very confused."
The distress didn't end there, as Birmingham Live reports that, this year, Pete endured another grievous blow during Celeb SAS, resulting in medical intervention as he found himself incapacitated and gasping for air amid one exceptionally gruelling trial.
The incident unfolded as he attempted to haul a sledge up a snowy mountain by himself, a task that proved too much for him. Speaking to The Sun about the ordeal, he shared: "I just pushed myself to a limit and I was very dehydrated.
"Weird enough, I think I'm the only person that gets heat exhaustion in the f****** snow. I hadn't looked after myself and it's a fine line between getting stuff right and wrong."
In Strictly Come Dancing, Pete has been faring much better. He achieved his highest score yet on the show last weekend, securing 26 points out of a possible 40 from the judges for his jungle-themed samba during Movie Week.
In the latest episode, Pete and Jowita Przystal performed a Quickstep to Town Called Malice by The Jam, which saw them reach a new peak with 29 points.
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec led the scoreboard with their Charleston to Anne-Marie's rendition of Unhealthy by Shania Twain.
On the other end of the spectrum, Dr Punam Krishnan and Gorka Marquez found themselves at the bottom with a score of 20 points for their Jive.
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Strictly Come Dancing: The Results returns tonight at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
