Pete Wicks' friendship with Zara McDermott as TOWIE star joins Strictly
Pete Wicks is getting ready to take part in Strictly Come Dancing 2024.
The TOWIE star is a close friend of Zara McDermott, who competed on Strictly in 2023 and has become the centre of the Strictly scandal. But the Love Island star and documentary maker's experience doesn't seem to have put Wicks off.
Here is how Wicks and McDermott formed their bond of friendship.
Reality links
Wicks, 35, rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex and has since appeared on a string of reality show including Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity MasterChef, The Celebrity Circle and Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls.
McDermott, 27, entered the spotlight as a contestant on Love Island and has since moved into TV presenting and documentary making. Over the years their paths will have crossed and TV awards ceremonies and industry events.
Mutual friends
McDermott has been dating Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson since 2019. Thompson and Wicks have been best friends for years. So when McDermott entered Thompson's life it was inevitable that he would introduce them and they would become friends.
The trio are often seen hanging out together at showbiz parties and making TikTok, proving that three is not always a crowd.
Throuple jokes
McDermott now calls Wicks her own best friend and she and Thompson spend so much time with him they have joked they are like a throuple and McDermott has said she even wants Wicks to move in with them.
McDermott told the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast: "I say we are a throuple without the intimacy. That's what I think we are.... Sam wants him to move in with us. But [Pete] says no. I would love for Pete to move in with us. We've been trying to convince Pete. We do have a lovely spare room that we did set up like mostly with him in mind, but he's never stayed in the bed. It's very sad.
"The three of us have a very odd relationship, but it's very amazing. He's literally my brother, my best friend. He’s Sam's brother and his best friend. Me and Sam are together, so, I love them both very much in different ways."
And Thompson told This Morning: "We're like a throuple really," said Thompson. "Not in an intimate way. We just love each other so much. We enjoy working together."
Romance rumours
With McDemott and Wicks becoming such good friends, fans even began to speculate that there may be something more between them. But they both laughed off the rumours.
Wicks told New magazine: "I love Zara - she's a sweetheart. Me and Zara find it quite funny. That's the problem with social media everyone's got an opinion. Sam is my brother, and Zara is a very good friend of mine. We just laugh about it."
Moral support
McDermott has become the centre of the Strictly scandal after pro partner Graziano Di Prima quit the show having admitted he kicked McDermott during training. McDermott has said of her time on the show "So much of my Strictly experience was everything I could have dreamt of... however my experience inside the training room was very different." And she called certain videos of her and Di Prima in the rehearsal room "distressing to watch."
Wicks was often present in the Strictly audience to support McDermott during her time on the show. He will have some idea of how the live shows work and the pressure the contestants are under. And he is ready to give it a go.
McDermott shared a message of support to Wicks on Instagram after he joined the cast. She wrote: "I've never been so excited. Love you."
She added: "This makes me so happy. You're going to have the best time. I am so proud of you. I cannot wait to see you in some sparkles and maybe even some hot pants."
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 starts on Saturday 14 September on BBC One and iPlayer.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/zara-mcdermott-pete-wicks-friendship-125512841.html
