BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Wynne Evans HAS had previous ballroom dancing lessons despite his denial
EXCLUSIVE: Strictly Come Dancing's Wynne Evans denied “ever ever” having any dance training before in his life during a fan Q&A but a clip has resurfaced of him revealing otherwise
by Beth Hardie · The MirrorIn a video interview from earlier this year, Strictly’s Wynne Evans revealed he used to have weekly dance lessons despite recently telling a fan he’d never had any training.
At the start of his Strictly Come Dancing journey Wynne Evans was less than confident of his chances at lifting the coveted Glitterball Trophy. "I am honestly still pinching myself," he said of his inclusion. "A portly balding opera singer, me, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing ?! I’m not entirely sure how I’ll get along, if all else fails I’ll just have to learn the art of distraction."
Fast forward into November and with hours of exhausting, sweaty rehearsals and a string of live shows with professional partner Katya Jones under his belt, the TV and broadcast star, 52, is certainly not doing too badly at all. He’s consistently been awarded very respectable scores from the panel of judges and has proved that a ‘portly bald opera singer’ can certainly hold his own on the dancefloor.
The BBC Radio Wales presenter’s loyal followers regularly take to Instagram to praise his efforts too. In a recent Q&A with fans Wynne was answering some of their questions when one queried if it was the first time he’d had lessons. According to Digital Spy they asked: "Have you had any previous dance training? You are amazing. Welsh love," they wrote. Wynne responded and said: "I love the fact that you thought you should ask. Erm no training at all, ever, ever."
However, despite Wynne’s denials, Mirror.co.uk has unearthed an interview from earlier this year in which he states he used to have ballroom lessons "every week". Talking to Sorted Food in a You Tube video the Celebrity Masterchef winner 2023 was discussing his love of food and where it came from when he made the revelation.
"My mother was petrified that we were gonna become butch rugby players," he said. "So she sent me for cookery lessons and ballroom dancing from about the age of seven. So, every week we'd go to cookery, outside of school, every week we'd go dancing." Mirror.co.uk has contacted Wynne’s representative for comment.
Despite his prowess on the dancefloor, Wynne’s time on the BBC talent show hasn’t been without its hurdles and he was left "heartbroken" after what he and Katya called a "bad joke" went wrong. Katya was seen by viewers in footage on the live show appearing to push his hand away as he moved it around her waist. She then refused his high-five which led fans to assume there was some strange tension between the two.
Following an apology from the pair, who have insisted they are the best of friends, they have continued to move forward but were again hit with criticism when they decided to give their performance in Icons week a unique twist. After dancing a rumba to Shirley Bassey’s This Is My Life, Wynne launched into a stunning operatic finale - the first time singing has been included in a performance on the show.
While the audience gave him a standing ovation and the judges loved it, with Anton Du Beke commenting: "The best ending to a number I've ever seen in my entire life, unbelievable!" some thought the move was unfair and broke the rules. Many critics took to Twitter , now X, with one slamming Wynne's dancing: "Second week in a row Katya danced around a barely moving Wynne... and singing is not dancing." Another fumed: "Wynne singing over and over again in a DANCING competition really was not required."
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