BBC legend 'pleased' Strictly Come Dancing star axed and 'no longer in the final'

Strictly: Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał are elimiated

The Strictly Come Dancing 2024 final is just days away as fans get to see contestants Tasha Ghouri, JB Gill, Sarah Hadland and Chris McCausland compete for the Glitterball trophy.

Brendan Cole, who was a professional dancer on the show from 2004 until his departure in 2018, addressed Pete Wicks' exit alongside Jowita Przystal on Sunday night.

The 48-year-old praised the TOWIE star's Strictly journey but admitted he was pleased he was no longer in the final, as he believed Pete may have struggled.

Speaking exclusively to Express Online on behalf of Sky Vegas, the former show pro admitted the reality star is a good performer, but had reached the end of the road.

“I would have hated for him [Pete Wicks] to have gone out there in the final and not be prepared and do an average final – whereas up until this point – everything has been really good for him," Brendan explained.

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Strictly's Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal were eliminated on Sunday night (Image: BBC)

The dancer continued: "He's had the perfect Strictly journey, and I'm pleased for him that it's finished now, even though he doesn't get to be in the final.

“If he wasn't getting the audience vote to save him from the dance-off, then he wouldn't have had the audience vote to win it.”

Pete has since admitted he "still can't believe" he made it to the Strictly semi-final.

When he signed up for the BBC show, the amateur dancer made it clear that dancing wasn't his forte, but he and his pro partner, Jowita, made it all the way to the semis.

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They narrowly missed out on a spot in the final after losing out to Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec in the dance-off at the weekend.

On Sunday evening, the duo appeared disheartened as they came to terms with the fact that they wouldn't be dancing in the upcoming live final this weekend.

Jowita expressed her gratitude to Pete, saying: "I just want to say thank you, thank you for the trust you have given me since day one. I know it wasn't easy, but with your hard work, your commitment and your heart, which is the most amazing thing, you were winning every week. For me, every dance was special... even the Cha Cha in Blackpool! Remember on day one you said 'I'm not going to stay long in this competition because I cannot dance' but now I can say to you, yes you can."

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday night at 6pm