Strictly's Wynne and Katya dismiss 'grope' scandal after backlash from domestic Violence charity

Strictly Come Dancing stars Wynne Evans and Katya Jones do their best to move past 'grope' scandal as they were seen laughing and joking out and about in Cardiff ahead of live show

Strictly Come Dancing stars Wynne Evans and his professional dancer Katya Jones have gone into overdrive to prove that the "grope" scandal carries no weight, after they were seen out in Cardiff.

The Go Compare opera singer, 52, came under fire after it was noticed that he placed his hand on Katya's waist - which she immediately removed while on the live show, last weekend. And shortly afterwards, the duo took to social media to claim their exchange was simply an "inside" joke and wasn't to be taken seriously.

But at the time it seems as though viewers were not content with their explanation, leaving Wynne to publicly address the situation once again, while on a radio show. At the time he said he was "heartbroken" things had gone as far as they had, as there was nothing un-toward between the two.

Now, the pair appeared to be having the time of their lives as they were seen laughing an joking while out and about in the Welsh city of Cardiff. Katya was seen braving the UK's winter in a floor length grey coat while Wynne opted for a white hoodie and denim jeans.

With her head tilted back, the professional dancer appeared to have found something Wynne said hilarious as they made their way through the city. However, after the clip of Katya removing his hand from her waist went viral, and then refusing to high-five her dance partner, domestic violence charity Women's Aid had a few words to say.

A statement read: "Inappropriate behaviour towards women is no joke. With an epidemic of misogyny and violence against women and girls in the UK, we need a media culture where women feel safe to speak up, where sexually inappropriate conduct is not trivialised or joked about."

The statement added: "It’s important we challenge inappropriate ‘jokes’ so we don’t continue normalising toxic attitudes that cultivate these forms of gender-based abuse." The duo were training in Cardiff ahead of the live show and Wynne was presenting his BBC Radio Wales lunchtime show.

Shortly after the clip went viral and the pair did the best to dampen speculation of a huge rift, Katya then told It Takes Two host Fleur East: "I actually can't bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he's not and in fact it couldn't be further away from the truth. "

She added: "I have to make this absolutely clear that this whole incident with the hand and the high five on Saturday night, it was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes." She went on to praise her dance partner for his performance of the Argentine Tango. She added: "He took it to a whole new level - he was a dancer I’d never met."

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