Strictly’s Katya Jones and Wynne Evans ignore scandal as he dresses up as the devil for Halloween special
STRICTLY star Wynne Evans ignored the recent “grope” scandal as he showed off his devilish side in tonight’s Halloween special.
It come after the singer, 52, revealed his “heartbreak” over his live TV “grope” row with pro dancer Katya.
On tonight’s ghoulish episode, the contestants dressed up in spooky Halloween costumes.
Appearing in good spirits, hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman welcomed to the dancefloor Wynne and Katya, who pulled out all the stops in matching devil costumes.
Katya was seen wrapping her arms around Wynne and jumping on his back as they made their entrance.
They flashed a big smile before joining the rest of the couples on the dancefloor.
It comes after Wynne came under fire again for allegedly telling a “crude” joke to one of the show’s make-up artists.
Insiders claim the opera star made a joke that the folds of his double chin “looked like a vagina”.
According to the Mirror, he made the remark ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing launch show last month.
A source told the outlet: “It was a bit of a vulgar dad joke.”
No official complaint has been made, and the insider added: “Wynne clearly didn’t mean any offence, but you have to be a little bit careful these days.”
A source close to Wynne said the joke was “self-deprecating and made in a private conversation” with a make-up artist, who was also said to not have been “offended”.
Last month, Wynne was left “heartbroken” following a backlash after his Strictly pro partner Katya was filmed removing his hand from her waist.
They then sparked further fury, when she was seen refusing to high-five the Opera singer.
The duo were quick to issue a video apology and insisted it was all an innocent “inside joke”.
Days later, Wynne took to his BBC Radio Wales show for a further raw reveal.
He told his listeners: “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, but 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, OK?
“We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny.
“It was been totally misinterpreted.”
The Go Compare advert star then gushed over his “brilliant friendship” with the Russian and added: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it.”
Despite fans demanding the pair clarify exactly what “the joke” was, Wynne didn’t explain any further.
He said: “She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
“We’ve got a brilliant friendship, an absolutely tight friendship, and I’m sorry if anybody was offended by it, but it was a joke.
“And that’s all there is. There is no real story, really.”
PURE BANTS
Wynne was referring to the video Katya had uploaded to her social media pages this weekend.
The clip – posted shortly after the online chaos ensued – saw Katya tell fans: “Hi everyone, it’s Wynne and Katya here, we just wanted to say we were messing around in the clauditorium on Saturday night and we just want to say sorry.”
She added: “It was a silly joke.”
While Wynne echoed: “Yeah, sorry.”
Katya then hit back a second time in a another video upload.
On Sunday afternoon, Katya returned to Instagram with another message for her fans.
She said: “Happy Sunday everyone. Now, I need to make something crystal clear.
“The hand incident that happened on Sunday night was indeed a very silly inside joke.
“So even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in anyway is complete nonsense.
“It’s quite absurd actually.
“Now can we just focus on how brilliant he is doing and what an amazing dancer that he’s becoming.”
BAD TASTE?
The pair’s banter came after the BBC series was engulfed in a string of scandals – though there is no suggestion Katya and Wynne’s joke was inappropriate.
The findings of a probe into former Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour were published earlier this month.
The report upheld six out of 17 allegations against pro dancer Gio.
The BBC has now apologised to his former show partner, actress Amanda Abbington, over the programme’s bullying scandal.
It was claimed the corporation spent an eye-watering six-figure sum on the investigation.
Meanwhile, the same investigation also saw Giovanni’s fellow Italian pro Graziano Di Prima axed after allegations of “physical incidents” towards show partner Zara McDermott, 27.