Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks says he is "gutted" for professional dancer Jowita Przystał after the pair were eliminated in the semi-final.
Former The Only Way is Essex star Pete, aged 37, and esteemed ballroom dancer Jowita, aged 30, became the 11th couple to leave Strictly last month, thereby narrowly missing a spot in the culminating round of the competition.
Instead, it was the line-up of JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, along with Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell who vied for the opportunity to hoist the coveted Glitterball Trophy on the famous BBC programme. It was Liverpool-born comedian Chris, the show's first blind contestant, who eventually emerged victorious.
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While Pete admits he never thought he was going to win the series, he would have liked Jowita to have the chance to perform in the final. Speaking to Heat magazine, he said: "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."
Their elimination just shy of the final meant that they were deprived of the chance to perform a show dance in the final. Nonetheless, Pete hopes to one day have the opportunity to execute such a dance, a sentiment that carries great significance for both him and Jowita, reports Lancs Live.
Pete, who candidly admits that dancing is "not my forte", reflected fondly on his time on the show, which he found to be thoroughly enjoyable and described as "really, really beautiful".
Although he narrowly missed a spot in the final, Pete was thrilled to see former Love Island star Tasha advance alongside JB and Chris. Pete even admitted that he wouldn't have wanted to lose a dance-off to anyone else, praising Tasha as a "beautiful person" and a "beautiful dancer".
In a heartfelt Instagram post last month, Pete wrote: "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."
Pete also apologised to his dance partner Jowita for not making it to the final, but she reassured him, saying: "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."
