Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal have made it to the semi-finals but the The Only Way Is Essex star has been hit with a wave of abuse.

Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks was visibily emotinal as he shareed a heartfelt four-word response amidst intense criticism for reaching the semi-finals.

The 36-year-old reality star and his dance partner Jowita Przystal have continued their unexpected winning streak on the BBC show. Despite getting one step closer to the finals, Wicks has faced fierce scrutiny from some viewers who question his ongoing presence in the contest.

During his appearance on Thursday’s (December 5) edition of the Strictly spin-off programme It Takes Two, host Janette Manrara delved into the “bizarre” backlash from a section of Strictly fans, reports the Mirror.

Probing about the online negativity, Janette questioned: “Pete we need to talk about this, because there has been some criticism online about you still being in this competition, which is bizarre to me, but what do you have to say to that?”

He conceded: “I am not here to please everyone, I am here to try and learn something. I am just a bloke who is just having a go at something. If I listened to all the negative stuff then I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.”

Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal appeared on Strictly It Takes Two (Image: BBC)

An emotional Pete confessed: “I’ve done TV for 11 years and I’ve done all sorts of things but I’ve never felt as vulnerable as what I do doing this and it doesn’t get easier. I’m quite a confident person but I’ve never felt less confident in my life.”

Wicks replied: “Criticism is probably a light word, I think abuse would be better, but it is what it is.”

Pete Wicks was visibly emotional as addressed recent backlash (Image: BBC)He then distilled his stance on the matter and shared a four word response, remarking: “You can’t please everyone.” Despite the challenges, Pete acknowledged some positives, saying: “On the plus side, there has also been a lot of lovely things said so it is what it is.”

Meanwhile, his partner Jowita defended him after a recent error in their performance, stating: “He rehearses so much but I couldn’t be more proud. In that situation we are showing that we are all human and everyone can make a mistake and that’s fine because even us pros make mistakes too.”