What did you miss?
Pete Wicks has given an update on his best mate Sam Thompson in the wake of his split from Zara McDermott, reassuring fans that he is “good as gold”.
The Towie star, who reached the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing, hosts podcast Staying Relevant with Thompson and also became close friends with McDermott. He told Lorraine he was “blessed to spend so much time” with Thompson.
Wicks dodged questions on his own love life and claimed he still couldn’t dance despite his impressive performance in Strictly.
What, how, and why?
The new year began with sad news for Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott fans as the couple of five years are reported to have split.
I’m A Celebrity winner Thompson’s best friend and podcast co-host Pete Wicks had also become close friends with former Love Islander McDermott, and in an appearance on Wednesday’s Lorraine he avoided addressing the split directly but said that Thompson was doing well.
He was also full of praise for his friend, adding that he was heading off to meet up with Thompson straight after his Lorraine interview.
Read more: Sam Thompson and Zara McDermott
As host Lorraine Kelly asked Wicks how Thompson was doing, he replied: “He’s good as gold. We both are so blessed to spend so much time together and work together. He’s a good boy, he’s my family. He’s the brother I never wanted.”
Wicks, who was on the ITV show to promote his new programme about rescue dogs, For Dogs’ Sake, also dodged any questions about his own love life. He and friend Maura Higgins had come under scrutiny in November and December, with rumours that he was dating the Love Island and I’m A Celebrity contestant.
But as Kelly asked him how his love life was doing, Wicks replied: “I wondered how long it was going to take, we did the dogs, we did the dance (chat). Really nice try but I’ve left the talking about the romance thing in the past.”
Pete Wicks confirms he has not kept dancing
When Strictly contestants exit the BBC show, hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly always encourage them to “keep dancing” – but Wicks admitted he had not taken their advice, claiming he had “absolutely zero rhythm” despite making the semi-final with Jowita Przystal.
As Kelly asked whether he was still dancing, he said: “I am absolutely not, no. I’ve hung up my dancing shoes which I think is probably a good thing.”
He added: “Do you know what’s mad is, I’ve never tried so hard in my life and still been bad. You can say it honestly now, I have got absolutely zero rhythm and I can barely put one foot in front of the other.”
But he said of Przystal: “She’s become a friend for life. I couldn’t have got a better partner and it wouldn’t have been the same experience if I hadn’t have done it with her. She was so patient because sometimes I’m a nightmare to get on with. The whole experience was amazing, I do love it, surprisingly.”
Lorraine airs on ITV1 at 9am on weekdays.