Pete Wicks has developed a broadcasting career that now overlaps closely with one of his most clearly documented personal interests: animal welfare. His involvement with dog rescue was publicly recorded years before it became a major part of his television work, giving that strand of his career a longer history than viewers may realise.
Alongside broadcasting, he has worked in radio, podcasting and publishing. His more recent work has also included discussions around masculinity, emotional wellbeing and personal development. Yet his involvement with rescue dogs has become particularly prominent, supported by established charities and broadcasters rather than being limited to social media activity.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Peter James Wicks |
| Born | November 1988 |
| Background | Essex, with Harlow closely connected to his upbringing |
| Previous profession | Medical recruitment |
| Profession | Broadcaster, podcast host and author |
| Animal welfare involvement | Documented since at least 2017 |
| Professional representation | MOKKINGBIRD |
| Public social account | @p_wicks01 |
From Medical Recruitment to a Broadcasting Career
Before television became his profession, Wicks followed a very different path. In a direct interview, he said he left school at 16 and later worked in medical recruitment, where he was earning good money.
His move into television was not described by him as a carefully planned career change. He has said that a friend persuaded him to make a cameo appearance in 2015. That opportunity developed into regular television work and eventually opened the door to a wider broadcasting career.
Since then, his professional activity has expanded beyond conventional television appearances. He has become involved in radio presenting, podcast hosting and publishing, with his autobiography released in September 2024.
That broader range of work is important to understanding his current career. Rather than remaining tied to the format that first brought him public attention, he has moved towards presenting, longer conversations and factual programmes connected with subjects he has discussed personally.
The Animal Welfare Work That Began Before His Recent Television Projects
Pete Wicks’ connection with animal welfare can be documented well before his recent broadcasting work involving rescue dogs.
In December 2017, he joined a Humane Society International team involved in the rescue of more than 170 dogs from a South Korean dog-meat farm. The organisation, now known as Humane World for Animals, documented his participation directly.
Wicks also spoke about the emotional impact of the experience through the charity’s coverage. That first-hand involvement provides a useful point in the timeline because it establishes that his concern for dogs was publicly demonstrated years before animal rescue became a central subject in his television work.
The 2017 trip was therefore not simply a retrospective detail added after his later programmes. It forms part of a documented pattern of involvement with dog welfare and rescue.
Turning a Longstanding Interest in Dogs Into Broadcasting
Animal welfare later became the focus of a factual television project commissioned by UKTV and produced with BBC Studios Entertainment, with access to Dogs Trust rehoming centres.
Rather than building the programme around Wicks alone, the format follows the work involved in rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming dogs. Dogs Trust has independently confirmed that filming takes place at its centres and that its rehoming work forms a central part of the programme.
Wicks described the project as a personal passion and said animal welfare was close to him. That direct statement is significant because the subject was not simply assigned to him as a presenting job with no previous connection.
The programme effectively brought together two areas of his public life: broadcasting and his established involvement with dogs. It also gave him a role in presenting the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming process followed at Dogs Trust centres.
Audience Response and the Effect on Dog Adoption Interest
The first series attracted measurable interest. UKTV reported a seven-day consolidated launch audience of 501,000, describing it as U&W’s strongest unscripted premiere since 2016.
Across its four episodes, the broadcaster said the series averaged more than one million total viewers under its stated audience measurement.
The response extended beyond viewing figures. Dogs Trust reported its highest-ever level of “Apply to Adopt” enquiries during the period in which the programme was being shown. The charity also recorded increased footfall at its centres.
Those figures are best understood as developments recorded during the broadcast period rather than proof that every enquiry or adoption resulted directly from the programme. Even so, they provide a concrete measure of the public attention surrounding its subject matter.
For a factual series centred on dogs needing new homes, the increase in interest towards a national rehoming charity became one of the most notable outcomes associated with the first run.
How His Role Expanded Behind the Camera
Wicks’ involvement did not end with presenting the initial series. The programme continued through further commissions, and his role later expanded into production.
By May 2026, UKTV reported that the third series had become U&W’s highest-rating programme launch of the year at that point. It averaged more than 700,000 Total Programme Viewing, according to the broadcaster’s figures, and was also identified as U’s leading streamed unscripted series during its launch month.
On 8 May 2026, UKTV announced an eight-part fourth series for later in the year. Wicks was listed as a producer, marking a broader professional role than appearing solely in front of the camera.
The same announcement confirmed plans for a two-part overseas special intended for early 2027. As of August 2026, that project had been announced but had not yet been completed.
His producer credit is a meaningful development in the career path connected with animal welfare. What began as presenting a factual series has developed into involvement behind the scenes as the project has continued.
Dogs in His Everyday Life
Wicks has also described how dogs influence his normal working routine rather than appearing only as part of a television subject.
In a May 2026 interview with The Times, he said that his dogs go to work with him and that he has adjusted his working environment to accommodate them. He also said he changed his car to better suit Rodney, his rescue Rottweiler.
At the time of that interview, he also spoke about Eric, his rescue French bulldog. His comments focused on the practical realities of living with rescued animals and adapting daily arrangements around their needs.
Wicks has additionally discussed training and careful desensitisation when dealing with rescue dogs. His comments were made from the perspective of his own experience as an owner rather than as professional veterinary or behavioural guidance.
These details give a clearer picture of why animal welfare fits naturally into his broadcasting work. Dogs are part of his everyday routine as well as a subject he presents publicly.
Broadcasting Beyond Animal Welfare
Although dog welfare has become an important part of Wicks’ current work, it is not the only area in which his professional role has expanded.
In 2025, he moved further into scheduled radio presenting alongside Olivia Attwood on KISS. The programme launched in March 2025, and KISS/Rayo still listed Wicks as a presenter as of August 2026.
His podcast work has followed a different direction. A separate Bauer Media project launched in May 2025 around conversations about masculinity, male role models, vulnerability, mistakes and changing expectations placed on men.
By February 2026, a second season had been confirmed. The format subsequently expanded into a live recording at London’s Union Chapel in May, with Katie Piper and Jeff Brazier appearing as guests. The event was organised in partnership with AEG and the suicide-prevention charity CALM.
These projects have given Wicks more opportunities to work in conversational formats rather than relying entirely on conventional television appearances.
Personal Values Behind His Public Work
Some of the themes in Wicks’ professional projects align with subjects he has discussed directly in interviews.
He told Channel 4 that he regards social media primarily as a work tool and deliberately keeps much of his family and private life away from it. He explained that an unpleasant response to an old picture of his grandmother reinforced his decision to maintain that boundary.
His grandmother has remained an important figure in the way he talks about his values. In a February 2026 interview, he called her his biggest role model and referred to her belief that people should see themselves as neither better nor worse than others.
Wicks has also described himself as relatively chilled, comfortable spending time alone and possessing a dry, dark sense of humour. These are his own descriptions rather than labels applied to him by others.
His longer interviews have included more personal discussions about anger, emotional processing, vulnerability and self-worth. On a podcast appearance in October 2024, he spoke about recognising that anger had sometimes been easier for him to process than other emotions and discussed learning to understand his triggers.
In later conversations about his podcast work, he said male mental health deserves more attention and argued for greater openness around vulnerability and masculinity. His role in those discussions is that of a broadcaster sharing experiences and facilitating conversations rather than a clinical professional.
How Animal Welfare Now Fits Into Pete Wicks’ Career
Pete Wicks’ animal-welfare work has a documented history extending back to at least 2017, when he participated directly in an international dog-rescue operation. Years later, that interest became part of his professional broadcasting career through factual programming developed with established organisations including UKTV, BBC Studios Entertainment and Dogs Trust.
The project has since grown through multiple series, measurable audience interest and an expanded role for Wicks as a producer. His own comments about taking his rescue dogs to work and reorganising aspects of daily life around them also connect the subject with his personal routine.
At the same time, his career has widened into radio and longer-form podcast conversations. Animal welfare is therefore one part of a broader broadcasting career, but it is among the areas with the clearest documented connection between his personal priorities and his public work.
You may also read: Leslie Crowther Combined a Television Career with Charitable Service.