Strictly Come Dancing’s Pete Wicks has expressed his disappointment for his dance partner Jowita Przystał after they were knocked out of the competition just before the final.
The former The Only Way is Essex star, 37, and his professional partner Jowita, 30, were the 11th couple to leave Strictly last month, narrowly missing a spot in the coveted final, reports Lancs Live.
Instead, finalists JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, and Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell vied for the Glitterball Trophy on the BBC programme, with Liverpool-born comedian Chris, the show’s first blind contestant, ultimately taking the win.
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While Pete acknowledged that he never expected to win the series, he felt Jowita deserved a chance to compete in the final. In an interview with Heat magazine, he remarked: “I always said I wasn’t there to win it.
“I was gutted for Jowita though, because I think she deserved to be in the final. She deserved it so much for dragging me through the number of weeks that she did.”
Missing out on the final also meant the duo didn’t get the opportunity to perform a show dance. Pete hopes to have the chance to do one in the future, noting: “It’s something that means a lot to both of us.”
Pete, who admits that dancing is “not my forte”, enjoyed the experience nonetheless and described the entire show as “really, really beautiful”.
Despite missing out on the final, Pete Wicks was delighted to see former Love Island star Tasha, alongside JB and Chris, make it through. He stated that there is “no one” he would have rather lost a dance off to, describing Tasha as a “beautiful person” and a “beautiful dancer”.
In an Instagram post last month, Pete expressed: “I couldn’t be happier with the way it ended, there is no one I would have rather been in a dance off with than Tasha. She is the most beautiful dancer, the most beautiful person inside and out and I’m so proud of her for making the final because she deserves it so much.”
The star also extended his apologies to Jowita for not reaching the final. However, Jowita responded: “I’m so proud of you and you don’t need to be sorry for anything. For me we won and I gain way more than being in the final… I gain a beautiful friendship.”