PEOPLE power has propelled Strictly underdog Pete Wicks into the semi-final — and could make him champ, insiders say.
The Towie star and partner Jowita Przystal were in jeopardy after a “disastrous” dance on Saturday night left them bottom of the leaderboard.
But they avoided the dance off, which saw Gladiator star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe lose to Love Islander Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Škorjanec.
A TV insider said: “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.”
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Tasha, who has a background in commercial dance, got the only maximum 40 of the series last week for the American Smooth with Aljaz.
In Saturday’s quarter-final show they finished joint top, with 38 out of 40, but still ended up in the bottom two overall.
Meanwhile, Pete — who enjoys phenomenal chemistry with his partner — only got 28, with judge Anton du Beke describing his waltz as “a disaster” halfway through.
Our insider went on: “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.”
Last night’s results show saw three celebrities voted straight through to next week’s semi — Pete, blind comedian Chris McCausland and actress Sarah Hadland, who began her career in musical theatre.
Montell, who went out after three judges voted to save Tasha, said: “I’m an Olympian and a Gladiator, but I’ve honestly struggled with confidence my whole life and being on the show, with the beautiful crew, the judges, the cast has just been such an honour.”
