Strictly Come Dancing spoilers follow.
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left feeling emotional after watching Pete Wicks perform his Couple’s Choice routine on Saturday (November 9).
In a bid to make it through to the show’s famous Blackpool week next weekend, Pete and his partner Jowita Przystał paid tribute to his late grandmother with a contemporary dance to Tina Turner’s ‘The Best’.
The emotional routine earned a whopping 36 points from the judges, marking the pair’s highest score so far, as well as giving them their first 10 of the series.
“Your dance was not only filled with beautiful movements, but your heart and soul shone through what you did,” said a tearful Shirley Ballas.
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“You were immersed in the music, you were immersed in the dancing, and that for me is what it’s all about.”
Craig Revel Horwood praised Pete for his “beautiful” storytelling and emotion throughout the “moving” routine, while Motsi Mabuse appreciated seeing a different side to the TOWIE star.
Viewers quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to share how emotional they felt after watching the “beautiful” routine, with one writing: “Pete could not have been any more invested in that dance. Such a beautiful dance.”
“GO ON PETE!! Amazing dance and what a lovely dedication to his Nan, I related to his VT. It’s amazing how much he’s developed. It’s a 10 for me,” another added.
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“So proud of Pete. Such a gorgeous dance that you can tell means so much to him – hope he gets a high score for it,” a third fan commented, while a fourth similarly said: “I adore Pete and Jowita, the most stunning pairing.”
While appearing on It Takes Two earlier this week, Pete explained to host Janette Manrara that he’s had a difficult week preparing for the dance.
“This is going to be a tough one for me based on the fact that I’ve not heard the song all the way through, up until this week, since my nan’s funeral,” he said.
“My nan was my best mate, and we played this at her funeral because it was her favourite song. If there’s one person that I wish was here and was able to watch me, it would be her.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays 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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Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.