The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks has opened up on his “f**king horrendous” experience with sleeping rough on the streets of London.
The 31 year old reality star was joined by Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan and others to brave the freezing January temperatures to experience what it’s like to sleep rough on the streets of London for one night.
Speaking about the “horrific” experience, which he took part in to raise awareness for Dogs on the Streets alongside ethical dog food brand Barking Heads, Pete exclusively relived the night for OK! online.
When asked about his night sleeping rough Pete said: “It was f**king horrendous.
“It was a really cold night and we literally went with the bare essentials – a cardboard roll mat and sleeping bag.
“It was the coldest night of the year so far and it was horrendous.”
Pete, who opened up about James Lock going back to his old self after splitting from Yazmin Oukhellou, continued: “I suffer quite badly with insomnia normally anyway and that’s in a nice bed so, trying to sleep out in the freezing cold when you can’t feel your feet or your face...
“The wind chill and the coldness on you face – because you try and wrap up with a sleeping bag and a hood and all that stuff – but you can’t get away from the cold.
“We barely slept, I don’t think anyone really slept about an hour or two at best and it’s quite broken sleep so having to do that on a daily basis, to be honest with you, I couldn’t imagine it.”
He added: “People will think: ‘Oh, it’s just like camping,’ it’s f**k all like camping, trust me!”
Pete revealed one of the things keeping him motivated was the thought that he’d be able to get up and have breakfast and wash the next day.
She said: “We were all fortunate enough to know that when we got up in the morning we’d go home but people having to do that day is horrendous.”
Pete’s concern doesn’t just lay with those who are forced to sleep rough, but the dogs that sleep by their side, too.
He said: “What you don’t realise as well, that’s us as people, the dogs they have with them as well. My dogs are like my kids and I couldn’t think of anything worse than them having to sleep out in the cold during winter months, or during any months. So it really put things into perspective.”
The reality star, who recently opened up on dating rumours with Chloe Sims, said he found it hard to sleep the next night when he was back in his own bed.
“I struggled to sleep the next night because I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he said. “The next night when I got in bed it made me feel quite grateful for the things that we do have.
“I found it quite hard to sleep because I was actually too hot in bed the next night, which is a beautiful thing to be.
"But it does make you think back to what we did the night before and the fact that we did that for one night and people who are genuinely rough sleeping they’ll be doing the same thing the night I was in bed and the night after that and not knowing what they’re gonna do day after day… it’s a scary thought.”
The reality star revealed the experience has changed his perspective on the homeless.
He said: “It’s changed my opinion completely, these people are no different to us and I think people look at them as if they’re aliens sometimes and there’s no difference, we’re all humans and no one deserves to be sleeping like that.”
