Strictly‘s Pete Wicks fought back tears as he sent a defiant message to his critics after a wave of ‘abusive’ backlash.

Some viewers were angry that the former Towie star, 36, and his pro dance partner Jowita Przystal, have made it to the semi-finals, claiming that he doesn’t deserve it.

On Thursday, Pete appeared on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two and host Janette Manrara took the opportunity to ask him about the ‘bizarre’ backlash.

‘Pete, we need to talk about this because there has been some criticism online about you still being in this competition, which is bizarre to me, but what do you have to say to that?’

To which he said: ‘Criticism is probably a light word, I think abuse would be better, but it is what it is.’

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Strictly ‘s Pete Wicks fought back tears as he sent a defiant message to his critics after ‘abusive’ backlash

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Some viewers were angry that the former Towie star, 36, and his pro dance partner Jowita Przystal , have made it to the semi-finals as they claim he doesn’t deserve it

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On Thursday, Pete appeared on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two and host Janette Manrara took the opportunity to ask him about the ‘bizarre’ backlash

He continued: ‘You can’t please everyone. I am not here to please everyone, I am here to try and learn something.

‘I am just a bloke who is just having a go at something. If I listened to all the negative stuff then I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.’

Pete became overwhelmed with emotion as he addressed the way the backlash has made him feel.

Fighting back tears, he said: ‘I’ve done TV for 11 years and I’ve done all sorts of things but I’ve never felt as vulnerable as what I do doing this and it doesn’t get easier.

‘I’m quite a confident person but I’ve never felt less confident in my life.’

But Pete made sure to mention the fans that have his back and send him messages of support.

‘On the plus side, there has also been a lot of lovely things said so it is what it is,’ he shrugged.

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Pete, who has so far avoided being in the dance-off due to his unwavering popularity, ‘respectfully declined’ to feature in the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour 2025

Pete Wicks claims he received death threats since joining Strictly

Jowita was quick to defend Pete over a mistake he made recently in their routine.

She explained: ‘He rehearses so much but I couldn’t be more proud. In that situation we are showing that we are all human and everyone can make a mistake and that’s fine because even us pros make mistakes too.’

It comes after MailOnline yesterday revealed that Pete swerved the Strictly live tour.

Pete, who has so far avoided being in the dance-off due to his unwavering popularity, ‘respectfully declined’ to feature in the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour 2025 due to having ‘prior work and filming commitments.’

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two airs on BBC One and iPlayer.