Strictly Come Dancing has announced the seventh contestant joining the 2024 series.
The BBC ballroom show will be back on screens this autumn with a new celebrity line-up hoping to impress the judges and public with their dance moves.
Pete Wicks is the seventh celebrity to be announced, who rose to fame after appearing on the ITV reality show The Only Way Is Essex.
He joins Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, opera singer and Go Compare man Wynne Evans, '80s popstar Toyah Willcox, JLS boyband star JB Gill, comedian Chris McCausland and Morning Live's Dr Punam Krishan on the show so far.
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Pete was unveiled as the latest celebrity joining the line-up on the KISS FM Breakfast Show today (August 7).
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Of his upcoming dancefloor challenge, he said: "Dancing live in front of the nation every Saturday? Absolutely terrifying.
"But anyone who knows me knows I love a challenge and trying new things, so I'm genuinely looking forward to getting stuck in."
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Wicks made his debut appearance on TOWIE back in 2015 and starred in the show up until 2021 when he announced his surprise departure.
The reality TV star later joked that he decided to leave the show after seven years so as not to be known as the "Ian Beale of TOWIE", making reference to the longstanding EastEnders character played by Adam Woodyatt.
Currently, he co-hosts the podcast Staying Relevant with ex-Made In Chelsea star and last year's I'm a Celebrity champion Sam Thompson.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
