BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Wynne Evans 'heartbroken' over Katya Jones incident

BBC Strictly Come Dancing star Wynne Evans has spoken after Saturday's show when he was seen trying to touch Katya Jones and has now said he's "heartbroken"

Strictly Come Dancing's Wynne Evans has expressed his distress, saying he is "heartbroken" over the backlash from what he described as "a stupid joke that went wrong" during Saturday's episode. The incident in question saw the Welsh opera singer seemingly trying to place his hand on dance partner Katya Jones' waist, which she appeared to brush off, causing a stir among viewers.

Katya, 35, has since attempted to downplay the situation, referring to it as an "inside joke" between them. Addressing the matter on his BBC Radio Wales show on Monday, the 52-year-old apologised to anyone who might have been upset by the incident. He explained: "I'm absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day."

He continued, clarifying the nature of their relationship: "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 was been totally misinterpreted."

Evans, known for his role in the Go Compare adverts, further commented: "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.", reports the Mirror.

He concluded with an apology and a reaffirmation of their friendship: "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."

Viewers at home noticed some awkward exchanges between Wynne and his dance partner Katya, as a high five from Wynne was left unreciprocated by Katya before she turned to face the camera. The moment led Wynne to seemingly react with disbelief, placing his head in his hands.

After the incident was discussed on social media, the dancing duo addressed their fans in a video to clarify the situation. Katya initiated the explanation: "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 followed up with a simple apology: "Yes sorry."

In the video caption on social media, Wynne further apologised: "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 apology, followers seemed more intrigued by Wynne's hand placement near Katya's waist during the show, albeit there were no implications of improper conduct.