Wynne Evans 'heartbroken' after 'stupid joke' with Strictly partner Katya Jones backfires

Wynne Evans is "heartbroken" about the fallout from his "stupid joke" with partner Katya Jones on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Fans watching Saturday's (12.10.24) episode of the BBC show noticed awkward moments between the pair as Katya declined a high-five and appeared to move his hand from her waist and the 52-year-old opera singer is devastated that the "inside joke" between the pair has been "misinterpreted".

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales on Monday (14.10.24), Wynne said: "I'm absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.

"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, OK? We thought it was funny. It wasn't funny. It has been totally misinterpreted."

The radio host stressed that Katya, 35, "wasn't offended" by the incident and that the pair have an "absolutely tight friendship".

Evans said: "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 that's all there is. There is no real story, really."

Wynne remains enthusiastic about the series despite the controversy after he and Katya were joint second on the leaderboard for their tango to ABBA's 'Money, Money, Money'.

The tenor said: "I'm absolutely still up for it. I'm having the best time of my life. I just don't want this to be the bit that people remember."

'Strictly' has been rocked by bullying allegations in recent months but a show source said that the programme's welfare team had "checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned".