ZARA McDermott has opened up on pal Pete Wicks’ Strictly Come Dancing transformation.
The Love Island star, 27, has put her troubling experience on the BBC series – which saw her professional partner Graziano Di Prima axed – to one side to support the TOWIE alumni, 36.
Pete featured in a new video posted on Strictly Come Dancing‘s Instagram page which showed his glow up.
He started the clip in jeans and a white shirt, wielding some of the voting paddles.
Yet in the click of a finger, he switched up to bright white sequin-studded jeans and a semi-sheer shirt.
The show – which recently revealed its 2024 celeb line-up in full – posted in the caption: “Your #Strictly countdown is on!
“There are only 15 days till @p_wicks01 puts the tan in Tango.”
Zara was quick to back Pete and wrote: “The sequins really suit you.”
Fans clearly agreed, and one gushed: “Never found him hotter.”
A second put: “He gets a 10 from me already.”
It came after Zara broke her silence on Pete signing up for the hit BBC series.
At the time, a source told MailOnline: “Zara is so happy for Pete landing the Strictly gig.
“Her experience on the show was so individual – she hopes no one will go through the same again.
“She knows that Pete will have an amazing time and could even impress the judges, he’s incredibly hardworking and a good person, and will thrive in the environment, which can be intense, but he performs best when he’s challenged and under pressure.
“Zara doesn’t want anything that happened to her to taint his Strictly journey and backs Pete even if it is a bit close to home.”
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
The former Made In Chelsea star often jokes about being in a “throuple” with Pete, since he’s best friends with her her boyfriend, Sam Thompson, 31.
Previously, Zara broke her silence with a lengthy comment on the alleged “physical incidents.”
Giovanni was fired by the BBC following claims he hit, spat at and kicked at his former celebrity partner.
The Sun also revealed that Zara had broken a leg bone in a tough training session during the show last year.
Graziano has since returned to his normal job, working for £6 an hour on a farm in his native Italy.
Yet he has hit back at the “shocking” way the pair’s friendship came to an end.
He told how “these vile, false allegations ruined my life in a matter of minutes — professionally, financially, psychologically and reputationally.”
