Joe Wicks has revealed a ‘panicked discussion’ took place ahead of his Dragons’ Den stint (Picture: BBC)
Joe Wicks has revealed a ‘panicked discussion’ took place ahead of his stint on Dragons’ Den.
The Body Coach, 39, is joining Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett as a guest investor on the BBC One competition, alongside Emma Grede, who is a founding partner of Kim Kardashian’s retail business Skims, and fashion expert Trinny Woodall.
YouTube star Joe previously revealed he was ‘looking forward to sharing my experiences and hopefully helping some amazing businesses reach their full potential,’ however, he’s now revealed some behind-the-scenes chaos when he had to undergo a quick wardrobe change.
Ahead of the new series airing, Joe told press about his wardrobe decisions, laughing: ‘I had a panicked discussion.’
He said: ‘I’m not known for being a very well dressed person.
‘So I was thinking, I’m not going to wear a suit, I’m not going to bowl in wearing a tracksuit, I want to make an effort.
‘So this is it, just like trousers, a vest, a nice casual cardigan thing. I think it’s important to feel comfortable.’
The Body Coach is joining the Dragons as a guest investor (Picture: BBC/Simon Pantling)
Comparing himself to the other Dragons, he went on: ‘Peter Jones – he’s in his suit, Steven Bartlett is much more relaxed, more casual so I just went down the middle really.
‘All the other things I brought actually were strobing a lot on camera. So this was my only option in the end because I had little prints and little textures and it was like, strobing.
‘So it got whittled down to this one. But I feel pretty relaxed. Nice and comfy.’
Talking about his stint as a Dragon, Joe admitted that it wouldn’t be something he would ‘actively pursue’, adding: ‘I’d never be sitting at home thinking I could be a Dragon one day, it would never ever enter my mind.’
He went on: ‘I don’t usually do TV. I don’t do reality shows, I don’t feel that confident on TV, which seems weird because I live my life on my phone and stuff, but when I’m doing a cooking show or I’m interviewing, I’m never quite relaxed.’
Joe admitted he never thought he’d be a Dragon (Picture: BBC)
‘When I’m doing a cooking show or I’m interviewing, I’m never quite relaxed,’ he shared (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
He added: ‘I’m really glad I’m here and I’m actually having a really fun day. Like I’m not stressed, I’m not really nervous. I thought I’d be super nervous but they’re so friendly, the Dragons are so lovely that I’m actually having a really, really fun day.’
Talking about the business-side of the programme, and his plans on investing, Joe admitted his family have raised some concerns.
He said: ‘Well, my family’s biggest concern is that I want to invest in everyone.
‘I’m sensitive and emotional and I’m generous when I can be so, they’re like, “Just take your time, don’t feel you’ve got invest in everyone, make sure it’s a viable business”.
‘And so I’m more concerned about over investing in too many things as opposed to under investing but yeah we’ll have to see because obviously there’s eight pitches and we’re two in, so a lot more to go.’
Joe revealed concerns he’d ‘invest in everyone’ on Dragons’ Den (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
He went on to say that Dragons’ Den is revealing a different side of him, as he thinks many fans won’t realise that he’s a businessman.
‘I’ve never looked at myself as an entrepreneur,’ Joe told us. ‘But I can’t deny the fact that I have a tech company with 30 staff, it is a company and because I always think I’m not a brand, I’m me, I’m The Body Coach, but the Body Coach is a brand and so yeah, I think people are going to go, “What’s he got to say? Is he is an investor?”
‘I think they’d be quite curious to see what I’ve got to say, as opposed to this nutty, Lean in 15, throwing food in the microwave, the PE with Joe, being silly, and again, I’m not like a serial investor.
‘But I do really love helping small businesses, and I’ve given lots of different companies a little nudge on social, for nothing in return. So imagine if you really worked together and you actually invested together, I think it can be really successful. ‘
Joe thinks Dragons’ Den will reveal a different side to him (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
And though he’s loving this experience in TV, Joe firmly declined any other offers that are rumoured ever year.
‘So I’m going to do Strictly, Big Brother, SAS, The Jump… no I’m joking,’ he laughed.
‘I was talking about the Strictly thing because every year there’s an article that runs saying, “Joe Wicks is doing Strictly”. It’s my worst fear, because I’m not a great dancer, and I just don’t think I’d be confident.
‘I think it’d be really tough so I’m not going to do any more reality shows, but you know, in the future, who knows?’
The star turned down any other reality TV stints (Picture: Brian J Ritchie/Hotsauce/REX)
The dad-of-three added: ‘Right now where I am with my family, my kids, I actually just want to be with them.
‘I don’t have this sort of desire to do TV and be on there just for the sake of it, this is something different. This is exciting, but also, it’s an opportunity to actually genuinely help businesses and help people.
‘That’s more fun than just me having a dance on TV for a laugh sort of thing.’
Dragons’ Den returns to BBC One and iPlayer at 8pm on Thursday, January 9.
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