Strictly’s Katya and Wynne put on a united front after ‘grope’ scandal but can’t raise a smile as they leave rehearsals

STRICTLY pairing Katya Jones and Wynne Evans looked downbeat as they made their way to rehearsals amid their ‘grope’ scandal.

The duo have been under the spotlight ever since Katya removed Wynne’s hand from her midriff during Saturday night’s show.

The awkward moment followed the professional dancer declining to high five Wynne, instead she responded to his beaming smile with an icy glare.

After both incidents went viral, the duo passed it off as an ‘in-joke’ gone wrong and insisted there was nothing sinister behind Katya’s frosty reactions.

Regardless, the fallout has overshadowed their success on the dancefloor after an impressive performance saw them score 34 points and finish in third on the leaderboard.

Today they were seen walking side by side in a Welsh residential street ahead of this weekend’s performance.

Wynne, 52, wore a grey jumper and jeans while Katya, 35, dressed in a stylish grey trench coat and pulled her Louis Vuitton luggage case behind her.

On Monday night’s BBC Two Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two, Katya insisted that the controversy had overshadowed their performance “for absolutely no reason”.

She added: “Quite frankly I actually can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not.

“In fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth.

“So I have to make 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.

“However, it was a joke and even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is totally nonsense.

“Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong.

“So hopefully this will be the end of it.”

Wynne added: “I’ve watched it back and I can see how people might have misinterpreted it.”

The controversy is the last thing the beleaguered corporation want­ed after a summer of scandal which saw pros Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima leave the show amid allegations of bad behaviour.

Earlier yesterday, a TV insider said: “Strictly want­ed to draw a line under one of the most troubling periods in the programme’s history, which had viewers deeply suspicious about what went on behind the scenes of the show.

“Allegations of inappropriate physical and sexual behaviour seemed to take some of the shine off the dance contest and bosses were looking forward to restoring the glitz and fun.

“Now there’s this bizarre incident which seems to suggest some tension between Wynne and Katya, not to mention inappropriate touching.

“The rap over the knuckles from Strictly was informal and there aren’t any plans to take any further action against them.

“But ultimately, amid all the con­troversy, viewers are left not knowing quite what to think.”

Behind the scenes, Beeb bosses are said to be furious about the incident, but seem to believe Katya and Wynne’s explanation that it was a gag both were complicit in.

On Sunday Katya and Wynne made a joint online video in which they apologised for what happened.

During it, Katya said: “We were just messing around in the Clauditorium and just want to say sorry.”