Strictly Come Dancing viewers have expressed concern for Wynne Evans following the drama from Saturday night’s live show. After an awkward moment over the weekend, the BBC has stated they will take “no further action” after checking in on opera singer Wynne and his professional partner Katya Jones.
Following a scene on Saturday night’s Strictly where Katya moved Wynne’s hand away from her waist, Katya has since addressed the backlash – expressing her upset over how Wynne has been “portrayed as someone he is not” on Monday night.
Both Wynne and Katya have maintained that the wandering hand incident was merely a misjudged “inside joke” and emphasised that all is well between them.
Despite the pair’s statements, many Strictly fans are questioning why Wynne and Katya haven’t shared the joke with the audience if it was simply a bit of fun, rather than inappropriate behaviour. However, some viewers believe they’ve figured out why the pair are remaining silent about the actual joke.
“One explanation given to me was they they were poking fun at other couples for all their hugging and kissing and that’s why they can’t say what the joke was,” one viewer has speculated on social media, reports the Mirror.
Others expressed worry for Wynne amidst the backlash, with one writing: “For god’s sake, she says there was no problem, he says there wasn’t a problem. So there wasn’t a problem. Why are people looking for stuff, when two adults say there no issues?”
One irate fan declared: “Not all strictly fans want him axed, I love watching them and looking forward to next week. He’s had my vote every week and that won’t change.
On Tuesday, a source from the BBC disclosed to the Mirror about the incident: “Wynne and Katya have confirmed that their interactions in the Clauditorium were silly jokes they had planned together and have apologised to anyone who may have misinterpreted them.
“They addressed them on Wynne’s Instagram, where their apology can be found. Katya would like to clarify further that she was not offended by Wynne and was not made to feel uncomfortable in the least she has also clarified on her Instagram. The welfare and production teams have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned.”
On BBC’s It Takes Two, Wynne and Katya addressed the incident that became a hot topic on social media. Katya aired her grievances saying it had overshadowed their performance “for absolutely no reason”.
Dismissing rumours that she was “uncomfortable or offended” as “total nonsense”, she told host Fleur East: “Quite frankly I can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he is not,” before emphasising: “And in fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth so I have to make this absolutely clear, that this whole incident with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes.”
Wynne also gave his take, admitting he “could see how people may have misinterpreted it”. Katya insisted: “Even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense. Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong.
“Hopefully this will be the end of it. Just keep making me smile please, because my Sunday was pretty boring without you making me belly laugh all day long.”
Opera singer Wynne expressed his regret to BBC Radio Wales listeners, openly sharing: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.”
He confessed: “It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really 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 misinterpreted.”
He continued by explaining his dance partner Katya’s response to the incident, stating: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it. She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
“We’ve got a brilliant friendship, an absolutely tight friendship, and I’m sorry if anybody was offended by it, but it was a joke and yeah, that’s all there is, there is no real story, really. And I feel weird apologising because I feel like I’ve not really done anything.”
Reflecting on the negative feedback received, Wynne admitted he made a mistake: “I misjudged it” during his chat on the Radio Wales Breakfast show before his own show aired, while also emphasising his enjoyment in the competition: “I’m having the best time of my life. I just don’t want this to be the bit that people remember.”
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