The Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks has opened up about his weight loss and said he now has a “jawline” after cutting back on his alcohol consumption

Pete Wicks made a major lifestyle change while appearing on Strictly(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Strictly Come Dancing’s Pete Wicks has revealed a major lifestyle change that has resulted in him having a “jawline now”.

The 37-year-old, who has previously spoken about how he used to drink “a bottle of wine, every night”. But taking part in the hit BBC show led him to cut down on how much he drank.

On the Staying Relevant podcast, former Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson noted that fans had observed Pete’s weight loss. And while Pete hinted it was partly down to the rigorous training for Strictly, he also admitted cutting out booze was a help.

Sam said: “We’re getting a lot of people who are saying Pete’s lost a lot of weight, they’re worried about you. I think you look great. You’re looking real good around the neckline, no wattle.”

Pete replied: “It’s Strictly. Do you know what it is? I’m just less swollen.

Pete Wicks took part in Strictly last year(Image: BBC)

“I’ve got a jawline now rather than it looking like a thumb, which I think when I was drinking was the problem, it was just like a thumb in a wig.”

Former The Only Way is Essex star Pete opened up about his family history with alcohol when he appeared on the Loose Women spin-off Loose Men. He said he was drinking a “bottle of wine” every night, reports Lancs Live.

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. 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.”

Pete Wicks shared his past demons before he joined Strictly(Image: ITV)

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 a reason to numb how I was feeling a lot of the time.”

Pete admits that during his Strictly training he discovered “trying to learn a waltz with a slightly fuzzy head is quite difficult”. Now, having reduced his alcohol consumption, Pete says he experiences greater “clarity” in his daily life.

Pete rose to fame after joining the cast of TOWIE in 2015. He has since appeared in a host of hit TV shows including Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, Celebs Go Dating, and For Dogs’ Sake.

He appeared on Strictly with professional Jowita Przystał, making it to the semi-final. The contest was eventually won by comedian Chris McCausland and professional Dianne Buswell.