Strictly Come Dancing insiders have declared that underdog Pete Wicks could snatch the Glitterball Trophy, despite consistently landing on the bottom of the leaderboard.

The TOWIE star, 36, and partner Jowita Przystał, 39, sailed through to the semi-finals on Sunday night, despite being the lowest scoring couple for the third week in a row.

While instead, Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe went up against Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec in the dance-off, with Montell and Johannes ultimately being given the boot.

The news that Pete had survived another day came as a massive shock for fans, who had predicted he would be the next one eliminated, with several infuriated viewers demanding he ‘resigned’ from the competition.

While even the reality star himself couldn’t believe his luck following his less than polished Waltz to Somewhere from West Side Story.

After learning he’d made it through, an emotional Pete choked back tears as he admitted: ‘I am speechless every week, especially this week’.

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Strictly Come Dancing insiders have declared that underdog Pete Wicks could snatch the Glitterball Trophy, despite consistently landing on the bottom of the leaderboard

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The TOWIE star, 36, and partner Jowita Przystał, 39, sailed through to the semi-finals on Sunday night, despite being the lowest scoring couple for the third week in a row

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While instead, Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe went up against Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec in the dance-off, with Montell and Johannes ultimately being given the boot

Pete Wicks makes misstep during Musicals Week dance on Strictly

Acknowledging that the public had voted to save him, he joked: ‘I think they might be playing a cruel joke on me’ before gushing ‘I couldn’t be more grateful, I’m so humbled by it, honestly.’

But according to The Sun, there were many who weren’t surprised to see Pete through to the semi-finals, and are even predicting he could go on to win the show.

The podcaster has allegedly received a surge of public support and the title of ‘People’s Champion’, thanks to his charm and enthusiasm, rather than his dance skills.

A TV insider told the publication: ‘It seems that when it comes to Pete, there’s been a surge in backing among the viewers at home who see him as a potential “People’s Champion”.

‘After years of complaining about people with dance experience excelling on Strictly, he is someone who’s obviously a complete amateur who’s thrown himself into the contest and embodies the spirit of the show. They don’t seem to want perfection, they want contestants with real heart and perseverance.’

While it seems that Pete’s much speculated romantic life hasn’t hurt his chances, after claims that he and partner Jowita have been secretly seeing each other away from the show.

The source added: ‘The fact that there’s talk of Pete growing close to Jowita won’t have harmed his appeal. People are now talking about the possibility of him making it to the final and even winning, because no one would have expected him to get more public votes than Tasha and Montell, who’ve been scored highly by judges throughout.’

It comes after fans were left furious by Sunday’s results, as they questioned how Pete has managed to stay to he competition for so long, despite the other celebrities being noticeably better dancers.

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The news that Pete had survived another day came as a massive shock for fans, who had predicted he would be the next one eliminated, with several infuriated viewers demanding he ‘resigned’ from the competition

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After learning he’d made it through, an emotional Pete choked back tears as he admitted : ‘I am speechless every week, especially this week’

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View gallery

But according to The Sun , there were many who weren’t surprised to see Pete through to the semi-finals, and are even predicting he could go on to win the show

Racing to social media, they fumed: ‘Whoever is voting for Pete over Montell needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.’

‘Pete is not on the level of any of them… not fair to have Montell & Tasha in the dance off! It should’ve been Pete going!’; ‘Every dancer has improved. Some more than others. Pete should be out’.

‘Pete’s act is tired and tiresome. If he really wanted to be the humble bloke he pretends to be he should do the right thing and RESIGN’.

Pete’s highest score of the series so far was 36 points during week eight, but since then he has consistently been the show’s lowest-scoring contestant, with him getting a measly five from Craig Revel-Horwood on Saturday.

And after never even ending up in the dance-off due to being saved by the public every week, it has been suggested that his clever marketing campaign could be the magic ingredient.

Pete’s celebrity pals have rallied around him, with the likes of Sam Thompson, Zara McDermott and Vicky Pattison urging their followers to vote for him.

A source told The Sun: ‘Beyond soap stars, Strictly has never seen such an effective campaign as Pete’s.

‘His celebrity pals span reality TV, music, social media stars and beyond and all of them love him.

‘Every Sunday night that reality telly army is canvassing for votes for Pete and urging their own passionate fan bases to back their mate.’

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While it seems that Pete’s much speculated romantic life hasn’t hurt his chances, after claims that he and partner Jowita have been secretly seeing each other away from the show

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Pete’s celebrity pals have rallied around him, with the likes of Sam Thompson, Zara McDermott and Vicky Pattison urging their followers to vote for him (pictured with Sam and Zara in April)