Strictly star Pete Wicks spills his best-kept gardening tips to grow his ‘green babies'

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Pete Wicks has swapped out “nights out for gardening” after making it to the live final of the BBC dance competition. The former TOWIE star found himself on the front page after he reportedly split from Love Island star Maura Higgins at the start of the year. Since then, fans have been dying to know about his love life and who is perfect partner could be.

However, the TV personality has decided to leave his wild partying lifestyle behind him in favour of more humble hobbies. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.



uk, the 37-year-old has lifted the lid on his new gardening hobby which has quickly become quite a handful. In partnership with SMARTY Mobile , the podcast shared some of his best-kept gardening tips. He told us: “I’ve just moved into a new place, and I’m currently surrounded by, well I can only describe it as a rainforest.

I’ve got more house plants than you can imagine. “I’ve actually got a booklet now on each of the plants that I’ve got and how often I have to water them. I have to set alarms on my phone for watering and feeding the plants.

It’s like having a load of green kids, it’s weird. “There are literally hundreds of plants now, I genuinely think I live in a mini little rainforest in the sky at the minute. I’ve got a big cactus behind me, but they’re everywhere.

So maybe I’m becoming a bit green-fingered". Pete chuckled: “That’s a really middle-aged thing now, I’m a bit green-fingered. Less nights out and more gardening for me”.

Joining him in his lavish new pad are his two French Bulldogs Eric and Peggy who he has sweetly branded as his “perfect companions”. He gushed: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s about finding the right match. It’s similar to when you’re looking at husbands and wives and whatever else you want, to find the right match for you.

“I think a lot of the time, what the problem is is people going specifically for certain breeds and whatever else that don’t necessarily suit their lifestyle. And for me, dogs are better than people. "They always have been and they always will be because all they want is love, and what you give them in love, they give back to you tenfold.

So for rescue dogs, it’s amazing that some of them have still got love to give, despite some of the previous history that they’ve had. "But any dog, it’s not just about rescue or any specific breed, I love every dog.” It comes after the reality star transformed himself into the Easter Bunny for his latest campaign with SMARTY Mobile.

Pete looked as dapper as ever as he embraced the fictional character with his signature fluffy brown ears and matching tail. Making sure he still looked stylish, the TV personality opted for a brown suit which he wore over a white T-shirt and teamed with a pair of patent black shoes. He teamed up with the mobile network after research revealed Brits are irritated by ‘chocflation’, with 85 per cent believing chocolate eggs have shrunk, despite being willing to spend an average of £5.

70 on a branded egg. Keen to get involved as he handed out eggs, Pete quipped: “Did I need to be dressed as an Easter Bunny to do this? No. But I am very happy to put a smile on people’s faces this Easter, who doesn’t want a free chocolate egg?”.