BBC Strictly star Pete Wicks' happy childhood crumbled after brutal realisation

Reality TV star turned Strictly Come Dancing contestant Pete Wicks, 36, has opened up about his traumatic childhood - which left him in a state of sadness and anger for years

TOWIE'S Pete Wicks may seem like he's top of the world now - but his childhood was filled with heartbreak.

The reality TV star, 36, had a smile on his face has he took to the dance floor along with pro Jowita Przystał to take on the pasodoble - despite only scoring 17 and ranking second-to-last on the Strictly Come Dancing scoreboard. Even if his hopes of winning the Glitterball Trophy seem slim right now, Pete took the judge's criticism lightly, joking he has 'no rhythm'.

But many people don't know that before his rise to fame, Pete experienced some challenging ordeals as a child.

The star's parents split up and divorced when he was just 11-years-old - resulting in his dad moving to the Middle East and losing contact with the family. "I understand that things were difficult for him at the time but I wasn't enough for him to stay, was I?" Pete heartbreakingly asked during an episode of Celebs Go Dating.

"Him leaving didn't just affect me. My mum was not in a great way for a good few years. And I didn't really get a chance to process what I needed to process because I had to make sure she was alright." The celeb added his father's disappearance left him with 'sadness' and 'anger' that he has spent years trying to 'keep under control'.

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Around a year later, Pete had gotten a job as a paper boy to try and bring money into the house - but his mum had turned to alcohol following the split. The star walked in one day to find her sitting at the table 'covered in blood'.

"She was holding a knife in her other hand," he revealed in his book. "Immediately, I ran over to her to take the knife from her hand. Before that, she had seemed almost possessed – it was like my mum had gone and someone (or something) else had taken over her body.

"I didn't say it but I believed it was my fault.. I had been with Mum before it happened. I had agreed to go upstairs. I had stayed upstairs even though I could hear her wailing... Looking back, I know that my responsibility was probably overwhelming in that moment. I was the child and I needed to be looked after."

Pete said witnessing his mum go through something so difficuklt forced him to 'suppress' feeling and fear and loneliness that started to 'grow inside'. When Tracy made a recovery, she told him it was a "moment of madness" and promised him it would never happen again.

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