Shirley Ballas chokes back tears as Pete Wicks dedicates Strictly Come Dancing routine to late grandma

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas choked back tears after Pete Wicks performed a special Couples Choice dance dedicated to his late grandma.

Wicks found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard last week and doubted that he “deserved” to be in the competition after Sam Quek and her pro partner Nikita Kuzman were eliminated following a judges’ decision.

The Towie star and author, 36, dedicated the dance to his grandmother Doreen, who died in 2022. Wicks has been open about the fact that his nan raised him after his mother struggled with her mental health.

On Saturday night’s episode (9 November), Wicks, who is partnered with Jowita Pryzstal, danced to “The Best” by Nicotine Dolls.

The dance was well-received by the judges as the pair received their highest score of the series, with 37. The ratings included a 10 by head judge Shirley Ballas who was left “quite emotional” and choked back tears as she scored him.

“Ok I have to breathe, I’m getting quite emotional,” she said as she took a deep breath.

“I am a grandma myself, a nana and just to see you dedicate that to your beautiful nan, your dance was not only filled with beautiful movements but your heart and soul shone through what you did.

“Your leading skills, of picking up this wonderful young lady and putting her down – you were immersed in the music and the dancing. And that for me, is what it’s all about.”

Social media also praised the star as they reacted to his performance.

“The emotion was authentic and it really showed how far Pete has come in this competition,” wrote one person. “I just want to hug him! That was gorgeous!”

”I’m in absolute bits watching Pete Wicks and Jowita his vulnerability,” wrote another, while a third commented, “I’m crying again!”

“I’m already crying before Pete’s dance,” said one person as Wicks opened up about the impact his grandmother had had on his life, and how much she would have enjoyed him being on the show.

Others celebrated the TV personality’s progress as they added: “Finally! Pete Wicks put so much emotion into that Couple’s Choice he was dancing in his own little world. I hope going forward he applies the same to the other dances that come up.”

Not everyone was impressed as some hit out at the heartfelt performance as a “sob story” and “cringy”.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast last month, Wicks has shared his hopes to dedicate a performance to his grandma.

“She would have loved it,” he said. “I don’t think she ever imagined that I’d be doing ballroom dancing on a Saturday night.

“Hopefully there’s one song that we might be doing which is very, very special to me at some point, if I’m in long enough, which is going to be a bit of a tribute to her.”