Strictly's Pete Wicks leaves viewers in tears as he pays tribute to his late nan

By SEAN O'GRADY 20:09 09 Nov 2024, updated 01:58 10 Nov 2024

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Pete Wicks brought Strictly Come Dancing viewers to tears on Saturday as he paid tribute to his nan with an emotional dance.

The former TOWIE stary, 36, was very close to his nan Doreen who died in 2022. He previously described her passing as 'the hardest time of his life'.

Pete and his dance partner Jowita Przystal performed their routine to The Best, a song originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler and made famous by Tina Turner. 

The reality star was praised by the judges for his performance and received his first perfect 10 score from Shirley Ballas who said his dance made her emotional. 

Taking to X, viewers praised Pete for wearing his heart on his sleeve during the dance. They wrote: 'Pete holding back his tears has got me crying, he did fantastic his nanna would be proud.'

'Couple's choice is such a personal thing to the celebs & Pete was no different…his confidence, poise was phenomenal- at some points Yowita looked like she was floating.'

'Pete almost crying is destroying me, what a beautiful beautiful tribute for his nan.'

'My 3 votes are 100% going to Pete and Jowita C/Choice. That was one of the finest, emotional and smooth dances that has been performed under the C/Choice brand.'

'Pete hanging by a thread tonight is so relatable, bless him.'

'Pete's emotional journey on this show has been beautiful to watch.'

Pete looked emotional after his dance and remained silent as he waited to receive his score from the judges. 

Speaking on spin-off show It Takes Two before the show, Pete admitted this week would be a tough one for him.

He said: 'This is going to be a tough one for me. Based on the fact I've not heard the song all the way through up until this week since my nan's funeral.

'My nan was my best mate and we played this at her funeral because it was her favourite song. And if there's one person that I wish was here and was able to watch me, it would be her, and she's not been.' 

Pete added: 'So this is kind of my way of having her on this mad little adventure with me. So yeah it's been a tough week. I've spent more time crying than I have dancing.'

The star has spoken fondly of his nan over the years and previously compared her to 'the nan from Catherine Tate'.

He said: 'She is the only person that tells me the truth, non-stop. My mum loves me, whatever I do, despite the fact that I'm generally a bit of a w***er.

'But my nan will tell me when I'm a w***er. In fact, she quite often tells me I'm a w***er when she's not calling me Steve. She's got a habit of calling me Steve. I'm not entirely sure why.'

Pete wrote about his nan's passing in his autobiography Never Enough, in a chapter dedicated to her. 

He wrote: 'The day she died, I had been in London seeing friends. Mum called me and told me I needed to get to the hospital quickly. 

'Nan didn't want to do it anymore - she was in too much pain and was going to ask the doctors to turn off her oxygen machine.'

'I can remember the last words she said to me as if it were yesterday: 'You're my soulmate'.'