Pete Wicks nearly died whilst taking part in a gruelling endurance show for Channel 4.
The Strictly star is flaunting his moves on the dancefloor in the current series of the BBC dancing competition. However, there was a point when that nearly did not happen after he ran into difficulty on the show.
Former TOWIE legend Pete was taking part in Channel 4’s gruelling endurance test Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. This is not the first time that Pete has taken on the challenge, having also partly run the gauntlet last year, but having to pull out due to suffering major injuries.
READ MORE: Pete Wicks’ pal warns him ‘focus on dancing’ in desperate bid to avoid Strictly ‘curse’
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During the course of his second stint on the show, Pete had shown himself to be a formidable force, but this changed as the group embarked on one mission. As part of the military training course, the troops headed out into the mountains for a tough challenge.
(Image: Channel 4)
In the chilling episode, which aired on Sunday (September 29), the group were split into pairs and told that they had to pull 130lbs of training kit across three kilometres of icy terrain. For much of the group, this in itself was gruelling enough, but for Pete – things only got worse.
Pete’s partner was comedian Tez Ilyas, who was eventually forced to withdraw from the challenge by the show’s runners, after being declared a “safety risk” halfway through the show. This left just Pete, who was made to carry both bits of training kit by himself.
Taking the challenge head on, Pete made his way along the track, surprising the course organisers including DS Billy Billingham. But as the episode wore on, Pete began to struggle, admitting, “I’m dizzy, staff,” before collapsing into the snow.
(Image: Channel 4)
Billy jumped to Pete’s aid, urging him to drink water, get back on his feet and carry on, but even then he struggled to continue the challenge. In an aside to viewers, Billy confessed: “He ain’t gonna make it, he’s gonna die.”
Pete was eventually brought back to base in the wake of the challenge by medical staff as the other contestants marched on. This came at Pete’s anger, as he said he wanted to keep going despite admitting he was feeling disoriented.
Billy has since admitted that he thought he had killed Pete with the gruelling nature of the task. Pete was eventually given the all clear by medical staff, but was warned that if it happened again, he would be forced off the course.
(Image: Channel 4)
Speaking following the assessment, Pete said: “I don’t find it easy relying on other people – I rely on me. Yeah, a bit of a lone wolf, really.
“I’m not very good at letting people in on stuff, because I feel like it’s my problem and I should be a deal with it,” he continued. “And that’s not right, because in the end, all you’re doing is creating a bigger f**king hole for yourself, aren’t ya?”
Staff at the course later praised Pete for being able to carry on despite the loss of his partner. They commended him for giving “110%” and added that he was just 400 metres from finishing the challenge.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
