Seann Walsh has revealed that he still feels traumatized by his time on Strictly Come Dancing and the fallout from his kissing scandal on the show.
The comedian, 38, found himself at the center of a media storm when he was photographed kissing his dance partner Katya Jones while she was married to Neil Jones and he was in a relationship with his now ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries.
And now Seann has reflected on the incident, saying he no longer dances and that if he ever sees a “Strictly No Parking” zone while driving, the bad memories come flooding back.
He told comedian Russell Howard on the Wonderbox podcast: “I don’t dance.” What really happens is when you pull up to some parking lot or something and he says, “Strictly no parking.” I still say ‘Arghh’ every time I see him.
“I can hear the word, like a dog hearing something. I can hear the word strictly and still say, ‘Arghh!’
Seann Walsh has revealed that he still feels traumatized by his time on Strictly Come Dancing and the fallout from his kissing scandal on the show.
The comedian, 38, found himself at the center of a media storm when he was photographed kissing his dance partner Katya Jones while she was married.
He went on to explain that he returned to doing comedy shows too soon after the scandal broke and that he was often booed on stage after spiraling into depression.
Seann said that he “looked sick, thin and emaciated” while performing during that time and that some audiences simply left his shows because of it.
He said on the podcast: “I came back too soon, that’s for sure.” You have to let the audience, or audience, almost get over it. But I wanted to fight against it.
‘I didn’t want what was happening in my life to take away the only thing I had.
“It would have seemed bad to me. She was extremely thin and emaciated. It was very difficult. The public didn’t know how to feel. They would get up, they would leave. Sometimes they told me they were horrified for me.
Mark Rothman, owner of The Top Secret Comedy Club, continued to book Seann and even intervened when he was recorded being booed on stage.
Seann said: “I remember one occasion when he took someone’s phone and deleted the video they had filmed of me having a difficult time.”
While taking part in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Seann kissed his professional dance partner Katya outside a pub.
And now Seann has reflected on the incident, saying he no longer dances and that if he ever sees a ‘Strictly No Parking’ zone while driving, the bad memories come flooding back.
Seann was in a relationship with his then-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries at the time (seen together), while Katya was married to her strictly professional partner Neil Jones.
While Katya had the support of her husband Neil after the ‘drunken mistake’, their marriage did not last as they announced their separation in August 2019.
A photo of the couple kissing caused a media storm as the infamous Strictly curse reared its ugly head once again.
Seann was in a relationship with his then-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries at the time, while Katya was married to her strictly professional partner Neil Jones.
Despite the controversy, Seann and Katya continued with the show and were eventually eliminated in the fifth week.
Following the incident, Seann’s actress girlfriend, Rebecca, issued an impassioned statement in which she revealed that he called her a “psychopath” and “crazy” for questioning his friendship with Katya, whom he kissed on Rebecca’s birthday. They soon separated.
While Katya had the support of her husband Neil after the ‘drunken mistake’, their marriage did not last as they announced their separation in August 2019.
Seann opened up about the scandal while on the I’m A Celebrity jungle in 2022.
Chatting to campmate Sue Cleaver, Seann said: “Me and my dance partner, who was married, I was in a relationship, we were photographed kissing when we were on Strictly Come Dancing… that was the front page of all the newspapers.” .
Sue asked: ‘Why did that crucify you? Why did that have such an impact?’
Seann said: ‘To be totally honest with you, my poor ex, my girlfriend at the time, released a statement. My girlfriend [at the time] I published a statement and that was the end of me.’
Seann then added: ‘I said sorry. I sat on Jonathan Ross’s TV show and apologized. I sat next to will.i.am and Samuel L. Jackson and apologized.
“That will always be the strangest moment of my life and I have to say it’s probably the worst moment of my life.”
He told comedian Russell Howard on the Wonderbox podcast: “I don’t dance.” What really happens is when you pull up to some parking lot or something and he says, “Strictly no parking.” I still say, ‘Arghh,’ every time I see it.’
Writing in the Bush Telegraph, Seann later said: “That’s something in my life I don’t want to go back to.” He obviously knew it would come up. They arise very naturally here.
‘I just want to move forward. It’s really nice to have people listen to me and be so lovely and wonderful.
“I just want to make it clear that I am very sorry for what happened and I really want this to be a positive experience and it really has been.” “I want to get out of here and move on.”
Seann is now in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley, whom he met in 2019. They share a son.