TV star Pete Wicks feared dead while taking part in reality show after he collapsed and was unable to breathe

Medical professionals rushed to a remote mountain in New Zealand using a snowmobile when reality star Wicks, began struggling to breathe during a challenge on the Channel 4 reality show. The 36-year-old had fallen to the floor during one of the show's most gruelling challenges. He ended up attempting to pull a sled up a snowy mountain alone, but the physical stress of the challenge proved too much.

Seeing the dramatic moment unfold, Chief instructor Mark 'Billy' Billingham said: "He ain't going to make it, he's going to die." It’s not the first time Wicks, who rose to fame on The Only Way is Essex, has been seriously injured on the show. He broke his rib during a task when he first took part in 2022, which led to him having to leave the show on medical grounds. He returned for a second go for this year’s series.

Wicks has admitted now that he didn't prepare properly for the "tough" challenge, which was filmed earlier this year. Speaking to The Sun about what happened, he said: “I just pushed myself to a limit and I was very dehydrated. Weird enough, I think I'm the only person that gets heat exhaustion in the f****** snow. I hadn't looked after myself and it's a fine line between getting stuff right and wrong."

As this year is his second attempt at the show, Wicks said he had put pressure on himself to perform, following his traumatic first go. In an open water challenge which aired last week - a task which previously landed him in hospital, Wicks and 13 other recruits were required to climb a platform and fall backwards into open water for the final task.

In last year's open water task, he jumped from a helicopter, but when he hit the water he was knocked unconscious, breaking several broken ribs. Speaking on last week's episode, the former TOWIE star admitted to the camera: "Last time I thought water would be my strong point and I knocked myself unconscious and I broke a couple of ribs. I cannot be the person who f****d it twice."

Celeb SAS is a reality military training television show in which contestants partake in a shortened two-week long training course that is designed to replicate the actual United Kingdom Special Forces selection course. The instructors take the recruits through hostile and unforgiving warfare environments, testing their mental and physical ability through a series of tests as they go.

Asked why he wanted to do the show for a second time, he continued in his interview with The Sun to say that he wanted to prove he could do it: “I’m not entirely sure if anyone else would ever go back and do it twice. I must be the only nutter that agreed to do it! My nan used to say I’m like a cockroach, pretty unhealthy but I’d survive a nuclear war.

“I was medically withdrawn, I felt like I hadn't given it my best, and that bothered me. So when I got an opportunity to go back, I jumped in. I think I probably learned along the way that I was maybe trying to prove something to other people and that's not what I needed to be doing. “It was about testing myself and doing it for myself, which I thought was the reason I was doing it initially, but actually, I think it was more down to the fact that I was trying to prove to other people for some reason, and that was wrong.”

He then admitted: “I’m mentally a lot stronger than I am physically, it’s probably 90% mental and 10% strength. I am starting to get a beer belly and tits but maybe I’ll do something that I’m actually proud of because there hasn’t been much of that.”

It was filmed last year in New Zealand, which is how Wicks is now able to appear on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing each week live. The TV personality has already formed a close bond with his pro dance partner Jowita Przystal.

Speaking on his and best friend Sam Thompson's Staying Relevant podcast, he said: "What I do know is that she makes me feel good. And that is really important and hopefully I make her feel good and that's a really nice place to be, you know what I mean?"

Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins airs Sunday and Monday nights on Channel 4 at 9pm, while Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One every Saturday and Sunday and times vary weekly.