Strictly's Katya Jones hits back at 'absurd' claims of 'uncomfortable' moment with partner Wynne Evans

Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones has addressed the backlash after her dance partner Wynne Evans was seen touching her stomach in a video from the BBC show

Katya Jones has addressed the controversy surrounding a moment with her Strictly Come Dancing partner, Wynne Evans, that caught viewers' eyes during Saturday's episode.

The incident in question saw 52-year-old opera singer Wynne Evans appear to stroke the stomach of 35-year-old professional dancer Katya while they were in the green room with the rest of the cast from the 2024 season.

As Wynne's hand moved around her waist, Katya was seen slapping it away. However, Katya has now spoken out against the criticism levelled at Wynne, insisting that the interaction was nothing more than a playful joke between them.

She clarified: "I need to make something crystal clear.

"The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly inside joke between Wynne and I. So even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is complete nonsense. It's actually absurd."

This statement follows Wynne's own comments to the Daily Mail about their partnership, where he praised Katya's wisdom despite their age difference, saying: "She's almost 20 years younger than me, and she seems 20 years wiser than I am. We talk a lot about what's going on in life and what's going on in the world.", reports the Mirror.

"I suppose I've learned that I can only focus on myself. I can't control anything else around me. And I mean, I still not very good at that, but I can't control everything around me. I can only control what I'm doing and how I'm doing and how I'm performing and how I'm behaving, and that's all I can really focus on."

After the clip gained traction on social media, Katya and Wynne responded to the reactions by uploading a video to address their audience about the incident, reassuring fans that it was merely a "joke". In an attempt to clear the air with their followers, Katya said in the video, "Hello everybody it's Wynne and Katya here. We just wanted to say we were just messing around in the Clauditorium on Saturday night and just want to say sorry. It was a silly joke."

Wynne chimed in with his own apology, "Yes sorry."

Furthermore, Wynne explained in the video's caption: "Apologies for this tonight we were just messing around. We really are amazing friends. The high 5's is a running joke. Have a great evening @katyajones."

Despite the clarification, fans seemed more curious about opera singer Wynne's hand placement near Katya's waist during the broadcast.

A source from Strictly Come Dancing informed the PA News agency: "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.

"The welfare team have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned."

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