Pete Wicks said he was ‘truly gutted’ to be medically withdrawn from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after he knocked himself unconscious and broke his ribs during a challenge.
The Only Way Is Essex star was seen floating face down in the sea in the shocking scene which aired on Sunday, after jumping from a helicopter with reality star Ashley Cain in a helo-cast task.
Rescue swimmers raced to help the 33-year-old, flipping him over in the water as the concerned recruits were heard saying from the shoreline: ‘Someone’s struggling.’
Devastated: Pete Wicks (left) was ‘truly gutted’ to be medically withdrawn from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after he knocked himself unconscious and broke his ribs during a challenge
After swimming to shore, Pete told a medic: ‘I winded myself and passed out, all my ribs are quite painful and my head is banging.’
He later said: ‘I had no worries about that challenge, which is the weirdest thing. My strongest thing is probably swimming.
‘I genuinely thought this would be the challenge for me to show what I f**king got and I got it wrong, I got it very wrong. I think my leg got a little bit caught in the bag and I went straight down onto the bag, knocked myself out and broke my ribs.
Extreme: The Only Way Is Essex star was seen floating face down in the sea in the shocking scene which aired on Sunday, after jumping from a helicopter in a helo-cast task
‘I felt dazed and confused. I was struggling to move my upper body. Basically, I think where I’d hit the bag, and I think just the impact of being unconscious and everything else, I was very confused.
‘I didn’t really know exactly what was going on and even moving my arms was quite painful, just because the pressure that was on my ribs and everything, so it just wasn’t nice. It was just a strange, strange experience.’
Following his accident, the Channel 4 show’s chief medical officer medically withdrew Pete because he needed to have a chest x-ray.
Leap of faith: Pete was seen perched at the door of the helicopter before jumping into the sea below
Task: He was seen clutching onto his bag which he was instructed to let go of just before hitting the water in order to avoid injury
Teammate: Pete jumped out of the aircraft along with former footballer and fellow reality star Ashley Cain
To the rescue: A crew of people were seen heading out to Pete by boat after he fell unconscious and floated on the top of the sea
New chief instructor Rudy Reyes, who took over from Ant Middleton, told the TV star: ‘The issue is you have some damage and the course is going to get much harder physically, and it’s too risky for your health.’
Wiping his eyes, Pete said: ‘I didn’t want to come out like this. I don’t f**king quit anything, that’s what it feels like.’
Pete was the second recruit to leave the course after Love Island winner Amber Gill quit the show after failing to complete a physical challenge on the beach.
Pushed to the limits: Fellow reality star Ashley Cain (front) also took part in the task and was seen emerging from the water with Pete
Game over: Pete looked in a lot of pain as he was checked over by the medic before he was told he could not continue on the show
Shocking scenes: Rescue swimmers raced to help the 33-year-old, flipping him over in the water as the concerned recruits were heard saying from the shoreline: ‘Someone’s struggling’
On leaving the series, Pete said: ‘I was gutted actually. This is a bit of a thing for me, it’s like I’ve always wanted to do this show and the worst thing for me was to be taken out because that’s something that I can’t control.
‘But, being completely honest, they’re 100% right because I wouldn’t have been able to carry on with my broken ribs. To have been out so early, I was absolutely gutted because it’s a fail. And, unfortunately now for me, I feel like I failed.
‘It’s something that will f**king haunt me because I just don’t fail things. I don’t say I’m going to do something and don’t do it, so I was genuinely so hurt, gutted, disappointed and angry at myself.
Excruciating: After swimming to shore, Pete told a medic: ‘I winded myself and passed out, all my ribs are quite painful and my head is banging’
Sad: Pete looked devastated after he was told to leave the show for medical reasons, with the star blaming himself
‘I still am, to be honest, even a year later. That was tough for me. I felt like I’d let a lot of people down, I felt like I’d let myself down.
‘There was no way I was ever going to hand my armband in. I knew I never would, so to go out the way I did really hurt. To be withdrawn because you’re physically unable to carry on for something that was an unfortunate accident, I just found really, really tough.’
Pete said he would do the show again tomorrow if they gave him a second chance to appear.
End of the road: Pete was the second recruit to leave the course after Love Island winner Amber Gill (pictured) quit the show after failing to complete a physical challenge on the beach
‘I feel like I’ve got unfinished business and I failed as far as I’m concerned. I want to put that right,’ he said.
‘It was something that is genuinely going to haunt me. I think there are so many things that happen on that show that would have benefited me as a person.
‘Everyone who’s been on it said they came out a changed person. I think that’s the thing that I’m most sad about – that I didn’t get an opportunity for that too – I really felt like I was beginning, after just a few days, to understand a little bit more about myself and why I am the way I am.
‘I think that’s what I missed out on. I really think the course would have changed my life. So, to leave the way I did just left me quite angry. It’s left more than just a bitter taste in my mouth, I’m truly gutted.’
The episode also saw recruits free fall from a 50ft cliff, with another former TOWIE star, Ferne McCann, breaking down in tears after struggling during the challenge.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins continues next Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Difficult: The episode also saw recruits free fall from a 50ft cliff, with another former TOWIE star, Ferne McCann, breaking down in tears after struggling during the challenge
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