Strictly's Pete Wicks shares heartbreaking admission after best friend died in his arms

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Pete Wicks has opened up about his "biggest regret" following the sad death of his nan and "best friend" Doreen in 2022. In his book Never Enough, the Strictly Come Dancing hopeful proudly detailed the many precious memories the pair shared together, including when she got a tattoo dedicated to him on her ankle and her being his rock through troubled teenage years.

The 36-year-old also emotionally opened up about the darker times when he saw his nan slowly becoming ill over a seven-year period, before her death. "The day she died, I had been in London seeing friends," he wrote in a chapter dedicated to Doreen. "Mum called me and told me I needed to get to the hospital quickly. "Nan didn't want to do it anymore - she was in too much pain and was going to ask the doctors to turn off her oxygen machine." Pete said after trying to stop his nan's decision, he knew he had to come to terms with her life ending and described it as "the hardest thing" he had ever done. "Mum and I sat either side of her, holding each hand," he recalled. "I can remember the last words she said to me as if it were yesterday: 'You're my soulmate'." Pete was inundated with condolences when he announced the sad news in a lengthy statement on Instagram at the time.

As part of the message, he penned: "I have been blessed to have you as my nan but more importantly to have you as my best friend. "The strength, resilience, love, empathy and compassion you have shown throughout your life is a lesson to us all and without doubt the only good parts of me come from you." Recalling some more of her final touching words in his book, Pete added: "I’m hanging on until you’re happy', she had said. "And I didn’t really manage to get my s**t together before