Vicky Pattison admits she feels an “anxiety” about taking part in Strictly Come Dancing after a comment from Pete Wicks. Former TOWIE star Pete took part in the show last year, competing alongside professional dancer Jowita Przystał.

Pete, 37, and 30-year-old Jowita struck up a close friendship on the show, with speculation that their bond could have even led to a potential romance. Former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! winner Vicky, 37, was last week announced as one of the celebrities taking part in this year’s Strictly.

She will be competing with the likes of Premier League legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, former Lioness Karen Carney, Love Island star Dani Dyer, and model Ellie Goldstein. With the show due to get underway in the coming weeks, Vicky now faces a wait to find out which professional dancer she will be paired with.

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Speaking on her Get a Grip Podcast with Angela Scanlon, Vicky said: “I do feel a certain level of anxiety over my instructor because I was talking to Pete about it and Pete was saying, Jowita who he danced with last year was the perfect partner for him in every way.

“The chemistry, the way she just understood him, it was all so perfect and I feel like the pressure is on to find someone you can have that bond and affinity with and I don’t know, I feel really nervous. We have this thing coming up where you all go, all the celebs together, and I assume that’s when I’ll meet everyone for the first time, and we all start to learn this big group dance thing with the pros.

“I just feel like I’m going to feel unsure and everyone will be watching me thinking, ‘She’s a bag of s***e’, and all the pros will be like, 'Don't want that one’.”

Angela likened the experience to the “first day at school”. She added: “There definitely is a like…everyone is checking everyone else out.

“But it’s almost like a first day at school and everyone’s really awkward. It’s really nerve-wracking.”

Former reality TV star Vicky rose to fame when she appeared in Geordie Shore. She became an authoritative figure in mental health and addiction with her critically-acclaimed documentary Vicky Pattison: Alcohol, Dad and Me.

After she was announced as one of the Strictly contestants, Vicky said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing lineup... but I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. I am not a natural dancer!

“However, it’s such an amazing opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone and to challenge myself in a completely new way and I just really hope I don't make too much of a fool of myself!"

Pete, who narrowly missed a place in the final of last year's Strictly, admitted he grew "really close" to Jowita. Addressing speculation about their relationship, he said: “I thinks it’s the press that think that… We’ve said from day one that we’re really good friends but they just want to do what they want to do.

“We don’t let it bother us, really. We’ve become really close through this whole thing because you spend so much time together and we get on so well.

“It sounds really airy fairy when people say that, but it is the truth.”