BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks recalls 'struggling to move' after terrifying health scare

Pete Wicks on It Takes Two
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


Pete Wicks recalled the moment he was left 'struggling to move' after knocking himself out in a lake. The former TOWIE star, who will take to the Strictly Come Dancing floor tonight with partner Jowita Przystal for their week four routine, was taking part in Celebrity SAS in 2022 when he broke his ribs in the water.

He suffered the injuries attempting a helo-cast challenge, jumping from a helicopter. Recalling the incident, Wicks said: "I had no worries about that challenge, which is the weirdest thing. My strongest thing is probably swimming.

"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.

Read more Strictly's Chris McCausland 'falling apart' with illness as he warns Dianne

"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."

Pete found himself in physical trouble once again on this year's Celeb SAS as he returned again. But medics were ordered in as Pete was struggling to breathe and collapsed during another gruelling challenge.

It came as he attempted to pull a sled up a snowy mountain alone, but the physical stress of the challenge proved too much. Speaking to The Sun about what happened, he said: “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, Pete is fairing much better He secured his highest score so far in the competition last weekend, racking up 26 points out of a possible 40 from the judging panel for his jungle-inspired samba during Movie Week. Yet, bookmakers are now placing him and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystal in the running for the exit this coming weekend.

Ladbrokes' latest betting odds suggest that Paul is most likely to leave at 8/11, while DIY SOS presenter Nick has odds of 6/4. Meanwhile, despite once being tipped as a potential Glitterball champion, Pete faces odds of 5/1 against Sunday's elimination, with all remaining contestants floating at 14/1 or more.