BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Katya Jones issues further statement on Wynne Evans 'hand incident'

Katya Jones has broken her silence on the BBC Strictly Come Dancing 'hand incident' after fans thought that her professional partner Wynne Evans had inappropriately touched her

Katya Jones has addressed the controversy that arose after a questionable move by her Strictly Come Dancing partner, Wynne Evans, was caught on camera. During a live episode, viewers were shocked to see 52-year-old opera singer Wynne apparently stroke the abdomen of 35-year-old dance pro Katya, as the 2024 season's cast assembled in the green room.

A moment unfolded where Wynne positioned his hand at Katya’s waist and then guided it across her midriff, which resulted in Katya quickly batting the roaming hand away. In response to criticism directed at Wynne with allegations of inappropriate behaviour, Katya has dismissed the negative reaction, insisting the act was meant in jest.

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."

Furthermore, Wynne spoke to the Daily Mail about his and Katya's relationship, remarking on the age difference and mutual wisdom, 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 addressed their fans in a video to clarify the situation, assuring them it was all in jest. 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 a simple: "Yes sorry." Wynne also posted an apology in the caption, writing: "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."

However, fans seemed less concerned about the high fives and more curious about Wynne's hand placement on Katya's waist, though there was no indication from the show that his behaviour was inappropriate.

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."