Strictly couple break silence as they hit back at Craig Revel Horwood’s calls for them to be AXED
STRICTLY dance duos have been making major headlines this season, and now one pair in particular have hit back.
Towie’s Pete Wicks and his dance partner Jowita Przystał have fought back after comments by one judge in particular last weekend called for them to be axed from the show.
The couple had performed a romantic rumba to Oasis classic ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger.’
However, their moves caused controversy and anger with one judge, as Craig Revel Horwood criticised some “illegal” moves in their routine, which led to them receiving a lower score.
Following the dance debacle, Pete and Jowita headed to It Takes Two last night to tell their side of their dancing story.
The behind-the-scenes show, that airs Monday to Friday during the run of Strictly Come Dancing, saw the couple discuss their choice to include the ‘illegal’ lifts, which were the subject of Craig’s comments.
Pete said: “I don’t think we should get any blame for that.”
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s the dance so far that I’ve enjoyed the most, surprising. I felt like I was just dancing as me rather than trying to remember steps, that’s the first time I’ve done that.”
He added, “I was just going with it and felt like I wasn’t trying to just dance without thinking about it. That’s why we did it, it felt right.”
Jowita said she believed the dance was beautiful with the pair choosing to focus on the storyline, rather than the technicalities.
When host Janette Manrara asked Pete his favourite part of the performance he said it was the ending: “The whole thing, I found really really hard. It’s such an unnatural way of moving for someone who isn’t a dancer. The whole thing is just unnatural for me. I know it was illegal but I really enjoyed that knee spin.”
He added, “Originally, we weren’t supposed to do that, it was something Jowita had seen and we expanded it. Originally it was a 180 turn and we made it a 360.”
He also told viewers he was a rebel at heart: “I’ve never been one to follow the rules! Do I look like the sort of geezer who plays by the rules?”
Last week judge Craig Revel Horwood shocked fans of the duo after taking a swipe at the pair.
He demanded they were “disqualified” over their illegal lift.
According to Craig, the rules state that, in a rumba, one foot must remain on the ground at all times.
He said: “That is totally illegal. There were two lifts, one foot should remain on the floor at all times.”
“Of course, it’s up to the professional if they want to lose marks for that,” he continued.
“And of course, you’ll be marked down for that, and I think even a disqualification darling.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 Halloween Week
Halloween Week songs and dances
- Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe – Cha Cha to Love Potion No. 9 by The Clovers
- Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez – Tango to Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics
- Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin – Jive to Time Warp by The Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast
- Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola – Argentine Tango to Ready Or Not by Fugees
- Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec – Samba to I Like to Move It by Reel 2 Real
- Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell – Samba to Stayin Alive’ by The Bee Gees
- Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas – American Smooth to The Addams Family Theme by Vic Mizzy
- JB Gill and Amy Dowden – Foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader
- Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał – Viennese Waltz to That’s Life by Frank Sinatra
- Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu – Paso Doble to In The Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg
- Wynne Evans and Katya Jones – Salsa to Canned Heat by Jamiroquai