BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks admits 'hardest' part of show and says 'I miss them'

Pete Wicks has admitted one of the 'hardest parts' of taking part in Strictly Come Dancing after taking part in a Q&A session with his fans.

The reality star and podcast host is currently in the thick of practising for his next performance which will be seen on Saturday night (October 12) during week four of the BBC One dance contest alongside professional dance partner Jowita Przystal.

It will see Pete leave George of the Jungle in the past following his Movie Week spectacle as they take on a Quickstep to Town Called Malice by The Jam.

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As he headed into rehearsals on Wednesday (October 9), Pete decided to distract himself from the traffic and take part in a Q&A on his Instagram page.

A follower quizzed whether Pete was "smashing training" this week to which he candidly admitted: "This is the hardest week for me so far but I'm 100% in and need to stop getting in my head about it." The 36-year-old then joked: "Poor @jowitaprzystal has dealt with a range of moods this week!"

But the former The Only Way is Essex star appeared emotional as he was asked about his beloved pet dogs - Eric, his French Bulldog, and a rescue dog named Twinkle.

Pete, 36, replied: "One of the hardest things is not being around as much for the dogs at the minute! I don't think they care but I f**king miss them!"

He also got 'soppy' when asked if he notices the audience when he dances live in the Strictly ballroom at Elstree Studio, in response to which he posted a picture of him embracing his mum, Jackie, and said: "Sounds soppy but I only really notice my mum. Other than that, I don't really know what the f**l is going on!"

It comes after Pete admitted he thought he'd be going home after Movie Week. During a chat on Strictly's spin-off It Takes Two, Pete got a candid glimpse at how he and Jowita compared to other contestants in terms of rankings.

Host Fleur East noted their scores, prompting Pete to confess: "When you're at the bottom it obviously doesn't look great. But you never know what the public are going to do."

He continued to discuss the unpredictability of the show, saying: "And I think regardless of what the judges' scores are, you never know what the public are thinking. And I think everyone, regardless of where you are in the competition, is nervous about leaving. And certainly I was, I didn't necessarily think I'd make it through last week, I'll be honest with you."