BBC Strictly Come Dancing Wynne Evans' heartbreaking marriage split and battle with mental illness

Shortly after being revealed as a contestant on this years' Strictly Come Dancing, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans laid bare how his battle with mental illness. He recently spoke about how the break-up of his marriage had forced him into a deep depression, leaving him suffering from an 'irrational fear' of being alone.

And while the broadcaster has fought hard to overcome the struggles with his mental health, this week he says he has been left 'heartbroken' after facing a fierce backlash from Strictly viewers over 'a silly joke that went wrong' with his dance partner Katya Jones.

Speaking on Monday on BBC Radio Wales, where he presents a show, 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."

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This is after Strictly fans noticed during last Saturday night's show an odd moment where the 52-year-old's dance partner Katya seemed to be pushing his hand away from her hip and then snubbing his high five. Clips of this were widely shared on social media and there has been much discussion around the footage this week.

But Katya dismissed the controversy as a "silly joke" during an appearance on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two on Monday evening. And Wynne has further defended their actions, adding on BBC Radio Wales: "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, okay? We thought it was funny. It wasn't funny. It has been totally misinterpreted."

Wynne, who is famous for appearing on the Go Compare adverts and has also won last year’s Celebrity MasterChef, married violinist Tanwen in 1999. The couple went on to have children Ismay and Taliesin.

But their marriage ended in 2016 and the couple filed for divorce. Marking the start of Mental Health Awareness Week earlier this year, Wynne revealed how he struggled to cope with the break-up and developed a distressing fear.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, he said: "It was almost like grief, but you can't grieve for somebody that's still there. So, it really affected my mental health, my confidence and my ego - it totally changed me as a person. It made me very aware of being alone.

"And, even though I was only 46, I had this irrational fear of dying on my own. I had very dark thoughts and very dark days where I would contemplate all sorts of terrible things. I think it's obvious what I'm saying, but I don't want to say it because some people find it distressing. I'm fine to talk about it now, but at that time nothing would help me. I realised that I wanted my life to be over and I did some stupid things."

After 'hitting rock bottom,' the tenor has since spoken of how he manages his depression and now feels in a much better place. As well as finding love with his new partner, events manager Liz Brookes, Wynne has lost weight and got himself in shape by becoming more physically active.

"I've lost about seven stone," he told the BBC. "Talking is important, but the most important thing for me is just running.

“So if I’m at home and feeling a bit down I do 20 minutes on the treadmill and it’s the best way to make myself feel brighter. It's like singing, which also releases endorphins in the body. My anxiety and my mental health is my superpower.

“Thanks to anxiety I know exactly what to do when things go wrong, because I've already thought about it a thousand times. So I think it's a strength and when you see it in other people you're able to help them as well.

"I love that.“