Pete beats bullies by baring all on telly
ASOUTHPORT man who bravely bared all on TV’s Naked Attraction said he went on the show to defy body-shaming bullies who taunted him at school.
Dad-of-two Pete Watson, 28, stripped naked on the Channel 4 dating show in an unconventional quest to find love.
Pete, who used to work in Asda supermarket but now works as a care assistant, said he was worried about his “manhood” when he went on the show, because of insecurities that stem from merciless school bullies.
He explained: “I think it stems from school locker room talk and bul- lying.li I’ I’ve gott li lingeringi th thoughtsht lik like ‘what if people talk about my manhood?’
“Throughout school, I was bullied because of my looks and my size but that’s just normal at the end of the day – some people get victimised, some p people don’t.”
Since appearing on the show, d divorcee Pete has received a barrage of negative comments from online trolls.
He said: “I have had some responses like some people saying ‘he’s an ugly ginger’.
“I just said to them ‘I’m overweight, I don’t really mind. If I cared that much, I’d be a meathead at the gym’.”
Pete admitted he was scared about the show airing, after applying on a whim when he was bored.
He said: “I was actually pretty nervous and slightly scared of what kind of attention would be drawn towards me. I honestly didn’t think it through.”
Pete’s appearance on Naked Attraction was his way of hitting back at the bullies who taunted him in school.
He said: “Everyone has a part of their own body they don’t like about them – I’m very comfortable in myself. Not that I don’t care, but if I cared enough about my physique I would change the way I look.”
The reaction from Pete’s friends has been more positive – with people praising him for having the confidence to get his kit off on telly.
He said: “Most of my friends have said ‘you’re a braver person than me – I wouldn’t be prepared to be naked in front of three people, let alone on national telly.”
Despite failing to find love on TV, Pete has since found a girlfriend, but his starring role made for an awkward admission on their first date.
He said his new partner has watched the show and “found it funny” but “cringed” at bits of it.
Peter impressed in the earlier part of the show and managed to survive three rounds before being eliminated.
He was rejected by serial singleton Louise, 38, just before the final round, because she was “not as attracted to him as to the other two”.
Louise ended up picking Ash, a double amputee who lost his limbs in Afghanistan in a bomb blast.