Strictly Come Dancing’s Wynne Evans and Katya Jones are currently in the limelight for controversial reasons – with their prospects at winning the Glitterball trophy now diminishing.
The duo were moved to issue apologies after ‘in-jokes’ from last weekend’s live show fell flat. Viral clips on social media had fans talking one depicting pro dancer Katya seemingly reluctant to offer opera star Wynne a ‘high five’, and another showing Wynne’s hand straying across Katya’s waist, which she promptly pushed away.
In an emotional moment, Wynne opened up about feeling “heartbroken” following what he referred to as a “misjudged” gag whilst speaking to a colleague on Radio Wales.
With week five of the competition looming, the situation hasn’t improved, as the pair find themselves tipped for elimination this weekend.
Initially standing at 20/1 odds from BetMGM, Wynne’s chances have suffered dramatically; his odds have been slashed to 9/2, making him the third favourite to be voted off this Sunday, reports Wales Online.
This troubling turn comes just after predictions were made that Wynne might emulate the success of past winner Hamza Yassin, who unexpectedly captured the Glitterball trophy.
Body language expert Darren Stanton, speaking for Betfair Slingo, had tipped Wynne as a potential winner of the competition, highlighting his standout qualities among the contestants.
“Wynne is a strong contender when it comes to winning the competition. He has something different to offer out of everyone else. You’ll notice when he’s receiving feedback, he actively listens, takes everything on board and wants to learn from it,” Darren previously commented.
“He reminds me of Hamza Yassin. No one expected him to win in the beginning, he was overlooked – but he was so passionate about learning and developing his skills. He’s thrown himself into the process wholeheartedly and is giving everything his best shot.”
Meanwhile, Paul Merson is once again the bookies’ favourite to be voted off Strictly this weekend with odds of 10/11, while Punam Krishan, who languished at the bottom of last week’s leaderboard, is seen as a 13/4 possibility.
Sam Behar, UK Director at BetMGM, remarked: “Paul Merson might be the favourite to leave Strictly this weekend but Wynne Evans certainly isn’t without a chance of leaving.
“He looked a lively outsider a couple of weeks ago in the outright betting but the news this week certainly hasn’t helped his chances and he’s been very well-backed to exit on Sunday night.
“He opened up at 20/1 but is now just 9/2, with only Paul Merson (10/11) and Punam Krishan (13/4) shorter in the next elimination betting.”
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday and Sunday and on BBC iPlayer