Strictly Come Dancing is marking 20 years of the BBC competition with a fresh special theme – Icons Week. However, Pete Wicks found himself apologising after his performance.
In this inaugural week, which will now occur annually in the dance series, the celebrities and their professional partners will light up the dance floor to pay tribute to music icons.
On Saturday (November 2), the pairs honoured music stars from various eras, performing to tracks from their favourite artists, including Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey and Queen.
The BBC has also hinted at a stunning Beyonce medley from the professional dancers, with Johannes Radebe embodying his inner Sasha Fierce to lead the routine.
Pete and professional dancer Jowita Przysta kicked off the show with a salsa to Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, with the reality star dressed as Freddie Mercury. After the routine, the pair could be seen embracing as Pete repeatedly apologised while the dancer tried to comfort him, reports the Mirror.
Following the judges’ feedback, Pete spoke to host Claudia Winkleman about his Queen performance, saying: “It was definitely an honour, I think it’s an ironic song for me tonight, another one bites the dust.”
The judges then revealed their scores, with Pete and Jowita receiving 22 points. However, some Strictly fans leapt to Pete’s defence, with one person commenting on X: “Still a weird song choice for a Salsa. But Pete looks SENSATIONAL as Freddie Mercury! #Strictly.”
A second viewer was baffled: “Who decided that another one bits the dust was suitable for a salsa FFS. Poor Pete #strictly”, and a third added their voice: “#Strictly I don’t think that song should have been to salsa just didn’t work #strictly.”
“Tough song for a salsa, he picked himself back up after the mistakes, but I feel Pete could be in the dance off this week”, noted another fan.
As we head into Week 7, Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas are the ones to watch, having secured the highest-scoring dance for the second consecutive week. Hot on their heels last week were Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola.
Languishing at the bottom of the leaderboard are Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, who scored 26 points. Their upcoming Tango to Rock and Roll All Nite by KISS might just catapult them to the top spot.
In other news, JLS star JB Gill and Lauren Oakley are set to dazzle with a hip-hop-inspired couple’s choice routine to a Bruno Mars medley, as Amy Dowden sits out the live show.
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One