Yahoo News 'I'd love to see Pete Wicks in Strictly final,' says ex-pro Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole spoke exclusively to Yahoo about Strictly Come Dancing ahead of Saturday's iconic Blackpool week.
Strictly Come Dancing's former professional dancer Brendan Cole has said he would like to see Pete Wicks in the final, even though he's not the best dancer in the competition.
Cole — who was a teacher on the show from 2004 to 2017 — praised the journey the former TOWIE star has been on and how much he has improved since he started learning to dance.
Speaking on behalf of Sky Vegas, the former pro told Yahoo UK: "I'd actually love to see somebody like Pete in the final even though they're not as good as some of the others that are in the competition. Tasha [Ghouri] is phenomenal and has been from the start, but I like what he's been able to do, and I like what Jowita [Przystał] has been able to get out of him. It's a nice story."
At the weekend, Wicks and Pryzstal danced the Couple's Choice to The Best by the Nicotine Dolls as a tribute to his late nan — watch the video below.
It got them an impressive 36 points from the judging panel on Saturday night and the emotional routine even left head judge Shirley Ballas tearful.
So Wicks may have said that he "should be absolutely nowhere near Blackpool" week, despite not being in the dance off, but he has the backing of the former Strictly pro from the sidelines. The choreographer thought in his opinion that everyone was being "slightly overmarked" on the show but he explained why this can be a positive thing for the celebrities competing.
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Overmarking on Strictly
Cole explained his reasoning: "Everybody's being slightly overmarked. I loved Pete and Jowita's number - I like where he started all those weeks ago and how he's become rather quite good within the show. He's never going to be as good as somebody like Tasha, but for him to start where he started and be where he is now, is fantastic.
"That is what Strictly is about and so he should be getting rewarded with his comments and to a point with the scores, even though he's not the best dancer on the show. I hope he continues to have improvement in the coming weeks."
Who will win Strictly?
While he thinks Ghouri is the best dancer and he would like to see Wicks in the final because of his Strictly journey, he doesn't think either of them will win the BBC show. His money is on blind comedian Chris McCausland, who is the fan favourite and partnered with Dianne Buswell.
He said: "I’ll be surprised if Chris doesn't win, because everybody's quite amazed at what he's achieving. People are liking what Dianne Buswell’s doing. There's obviously a lot of talk around the fact that he's blind and being able to do such a great job on a difficult show like Strictly, it's a great story. People are enjoying that side of things, and it's great to see him talk about what it means to him to be able to share his story."
He added: "Chris alluded to it in the VT before their dance. By him dancing the way he is, and achieving so brilliantly, it’s showing that for all, anything is possible. For people who have any form of disability or impairment, what is achievable for them is the same as for everybody else. It's a nice message that we are all getting while we're watching the show."
