Pete Wicks has spoken openly about his previous heavy alcohol intake, admitting he was a “pretty heavy drinker” for over 15 years prior to taking part on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing

Pete Wicks cut down on alcohol during Strictly (Image: Getty Images for Condé Nast)

Pete Wicks has disclosed that his dietary habits have resulted in a health issue.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant has previously spoken about his alcohol intake. He admitted he was a “pretty heavy drinker” for over 15 years prior to taking part on the hit BBC show.

The 36-year-old says he would find himself “drinking for the sake of drinking” and would regularly consume a bottle of wine a night, every night. But after discovering it was difficult to learn his dance routines with a “slightly fuzzy head”, Pete decided to cut back.

He has since ceased “day drinking” and while he occasionally enjoys “a few drinks with the boys”, it’s not a daily occurrence. During an episode of his Staying Relevant podcast with close friend Sam Thompson, Pete revealed that his excessive drinking had caused him to develop a “tremor”.

This revelation came when former England rugby player Joe Marler was asked what profession he thought ex-The Only Way is Essex star Pete would pursue outside of showbiz, reports Bristol Live. Joe suggested: “Pete, you’re a practical guy, I see you as a cardiac surgeon.”

Friends Sam and Pete present a podcast together (Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Sam humorously proposed that Pete could be a roofer, to which Joe retorted: “Roofer? No, no, you’ve got to be a bit more butch, your hands aren’t rougher.”

It was at this point that Pete disclosed his high alcohol consumption had led to a problem with his hands. He explained: “That probably would have been good a few years ago but due to the alcohol, the tremor is an issue with that precise stuff.”

Pete opened up about his relationship with alcohol during an appearance on the Loose Women spin-off, Loose Men. He shared: “I grew up with family that had alcohol dependencies and I think I would never have considered myself to be someone who had a problem with drinking.

Pete Wicks has previously addressed his alcohol use (Image: ITV)
“But, Strictly really changed my drinking habits. Pre [Strictly] I was a pretty heavy drinker for 15 years, to the point where I’d have a bottle of wine a night, every night, and that’s just cooking and chilling out. It was my way of kind of chilling out, until I did Strictly and kind of stopped drinking and realised that actually, all that was doing was kind of numbing parts of my reality.”

He continued: “It became a habit to the point where I was functioning by just carrying on doing that and it didn’t really bother me. I didn’t get hangovers and I didn’t really get come downs or anything like that. I was just drinking for the sake of drinking but also, it gave me kind of a reason to numb how I was feeling a lot of the time.”

Alcohol intake and tremors

According to the NHS , heavy drinkers can experience hand tremors, known as the shakes, if they begin to suddenly cut back. It says other possible health problems include depression, sweating, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping.

A 1 985 study meanwhile found that 41 per cent of alcoholics who stop drinking with 21 days experienced a “postural tremor”.

Anyone who thinks they have problems with drinking should visit the NHS website for more information. Alternatively, contact your GP.