Strictly Come Dancing contestant Wynne Evans says he is “heartbroken” by the reaction when his professional partner Katya Jones removed her hand from his waist during Saturday night’s live show.
The pair apologized and said the moment was a “joke” after a clip showing the incident was widely shared on social media.
It comes amid increased scrutiny of BBC One’s popular dance show after celebrities spoke openly about their treatment on the long-running series, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The controversy stems from a moment on Saturday’s show when Evans appeared to put his hand on Katya’s waist, before she pushed him away. Later in the show, Evans offered her partner a high-five, which she ignored before turning to the camera, stone-faced.
Opera singer Evans, 52, known for Go Compare insurance adverts, said the angry reaction from fans was “tedious” and told BBC Radio Wales: “I’m absolutely heartbroken at the things that have happened. written about me on the last day.”
The awkward interaction comes after Katya was forced to dismiss growing rumors of a feud after she was caught removing his hand following her live performance on Saturday.
“It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are very, very close and very good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.
‘It was a stupid joke that went wrong, okay, we thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny. It has been totally misunderstood.
‘It’s all on Katya’s social media. She has talked about it. She explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the slightest. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
“We have a brilliant friendship, an absolutely close friendship, and I’m sorry if anyone was offended by it, but it was a joke and yeah, that’s all there is, there’s really no real story.”
“And I feel weird apologizing because I feel like I haven’t really done anything.”
He agreed he had “misjudged” him when interviewed on Radio Wales Breakfast before starting his own show on the station, and confirmed he was “absolutely still prepared for” Strictly.
He said: ‘I’m having the time of my life. “I just don’t want this to be what people remember.”
The radio presenter also said he found the furore “tedious” and said people can tune in to hear the pair discuss it on spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.
While the dancing duo talked about whatever secret romance was going on behind the scenes in a recent interview, Wynne randomly directed the question to Katya.
Wynne asked, ‘I haven’t seen anyone (approaching), are you approaching anyone?’
On Sunday, Evans and Jones, 35, posted a video on Instagram saying they were “just playing at the Clauditorium on Saturday night and just wanted to say sorry.” It was a stupid joke.’
At another point on Saturday night, Jones seemed reluctant to high-five his famous partner.
A caption next to his video explained that “high 5’s are a running joke.”
A Strictly source said: “Wynne and Katya have confirmed that their Clauditorium interactions were silly pranks they had planned together and have apologized to anyone who misinterpreted them.”
‘They addressed them on Wynne’s Instagram, where his apology can be found.
‘Katya would like to clarify further that Wynne did not offend her and did not make her feel uncomfortable in the slightest.
“The social assistance team has monitored the couple and there are no further actions planned.”
The duo earned their highest score yet on Saturday, with the judges giving them 34 points for their tango to Abba’s Money, Money, Money on Saturday.
Strictly’s Wynne Evans, 52, asked Katya Jones, 35, if she was “getting close to anyone” on the BBC show during a recent interview.
Puzzled, Katya replied: ‘Me?’ Wynne said: ‘Yes. I don’t know, I haven’t seen you get close (with anyone), although you could be.’
Escorts have been installed on Strictly during rehearsals this year after the BBC launched a review after Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington complained about her 2023 professional dance partner, Giovanni Pernice.
The BBC apologized to Abbington and said: “We have assessed the complaints and have confirmed some, but not all, of the complaints raised.”
Pernice has always denied the allegations and said he was “happy” after the investigation cleared him of abuse allegations.
Outlining the programme’s new duty of care measures in September, the BBC said: ‘In July, we introduced new measures for training and rehearsals, which are in place for this year’s programme.
‘These included a member of the production team present during rehearsals in the training room at all times; two new roles on the show dedicated to social support: a social welfare producer for celebrities and a social welfare producer for professional dancers (both started work in August); and additional training for professional dancers, production team and crew.
