Furious Wynne Evans reveals he's no longer speaking to Strictly's Katya Jones as he hits out at BBC

The Sun

3 days ago

WYNNE Evans revealed he no longer speaks to his Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones as he hit out at the BBC.
The opera singer, 53, competed in the 20th anniversary series of the hit dancing programme with professional dancer Katya.
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But in May, Wynne announced he had been dropped by the BBC and would no longer present on BBC Radio Wales after apologising for using "inappropriate language" during the launch of the Strictly tour.
On Thursday, the tenor opened up on the ordeal on his new Wynne Evans radio show.
Replying to a fan who asked if he had been in contact with his ex pro dancer Katya since he was suspended from the tour, Wynne replied: "No, I'm not in contact with any of them.
"I think that when I was released from the tour I've heard although this may not be true. I've heard that they were told not to contact me.
"And so whilst I've had a few emails, a few messages from them since, not really no, I'm not in contact with any of them at all. None of them."
Wynne admitted that some of the Strictly judges had reached out to him but insisted the pros are "too scared" of losing their jobs.
He continued: "There are some people that did message me, I won't mention their names.
"There are some people that could do more, and when I asked, they said they had to check with the own PR first before they could come out and support me.
"Some people were really good, you can tell from the blue ticks that have liked my post. I have had some lovely chats with some of the judges.
"I got on really well with Katya.
Tearful Wynne Evans slams BBC in first TV interview since Strictly scandal
"At the time in January I wish I hadn't done it [Strictly].
"But now I'm quite glad because it's done and I don't have to worry.
"I'm not in touch with her.
"I could text her if I wanted but I'm not in touch.
"The pros are absolutely scared for themselves [they've not been in touch], Strictly is all they have."
While another person rang in and asked if his experience would have been different if he was paired with another pro dancer.
Wynne replied: "She's a nice person Katya, she's a really really nice person. I'm not gonna say anything negative about Katya.
" All I know is you know that particular situation really was horrific to live through and it got to the stage in the end when I asked the BBC if they could help me and I was told no, 'this is a you problem not a Strictly problem'."
TRUTH BEHIND APOLOGY VIDEO
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During a live episode in October, fans were left shocked when they spotted Katya pushing her partner Wynne's hand off her waist.
The pair then addressed the awkward moment with an apology video, what Wynne now calls a "hostage style video".
During the hour Q&A, Wynne explained what really happened, saying: "I remember after Katya and I had done the hand and I know there's there's a lot of questions about this and I want to apologize for this. It was totally misguided, totally naive and not the right thing for me to do, but I did it."
He went on to say: "We'd been watching a video about people analysing body language on Strictly... so we decided that we were going to do this experiment where I put my hand on her waist and she would move it back, right?
"It was naive and it was stupid but Katya said to me look, let's do it.
"I was involved and I could see how it had blown up afterwards. So I went to see the talent booker and I said look something's happened and it's blowing up on on Twitter.
"She started laughing and said 'Oh, don't worry about it' and I said 'no, no, it's serious, we need to issue an apology'.
"So Katya and I went and we made this apology and the apology was really explanatory.
"It was saying that we had decided to do this as a body language experiment. It had gone totally wrong and it was naive and it was stupid and we were apologising for it."
Wynne then claimed that the Head of Press for Strictly told them to shorten the video and to just say "sorry".
Speaking about the apology video that was released, Wynne said: "I describe it as a a hostage style video. It looked terrible It looked awful and it certainly didn't represent what had happened that evening.
"So we were forced to put that version out and not the version that I really really wanted to do so that that blew up and of course it put massive stress on me and I have spoken openly about my mental health struggles for the last I don't know since 2016 and I just went into a total meltdown because I thought this was going to be the end of the world for me.
"My career was going to be lost and that was going to be the end of it, so I went into a total meltdown."
A BB spokesperson previously told The Sun: 'For the avoidance of doubt, the video in question was filmed twice and all parties agreed at the time that the second more concise version would be better suited for social media.'
CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
The opera singer has also called for an independent investigation, one year on from when he first started the BBC dance show.
He said: "What's unfolded since has revealed a bigger problem by far than any one individual a problem at the very heart of the BBC. I am therefore today calling for an independent investigation Investigation into the organisation.
"I would like the culture secretary of state to take responsibility for this.
"Over the past 12 months It's become clear to me that under the leadership of the director-general Tim Davie and chairman Samir Sarr the BBC has fostered a culture where the protection of its own image and senior management takes precedence over fairness Accountability and a duty of care to its employees.
"The BBC has chosen to protect itself at all costs even when that means leaving individuals isolated discredited and unsupported.
"This has created a real David and Goliath Situation in which ordinary people are left powerless against a system deliberately structured to silence them.
"The BBC's HR department in particular has shown itself to be unfit for purpose."
Wynne finished by telling listeners that he was "let down" by the BBC and reiterated the importance for an independent investigation.
He said: "At a time when support is most desperately needed the BBC has chosen to look the other way.
"We must remember that the BBC is not a commercial company. It is not accountable to shareholders. It is our National Public Service broadcaster funded by the public.
"This is not about me anymore and I don't want this to be about me anymore and now that I'm strong now that I'm stronger I can talk about it."
He added that he still has a great relationship with GoCompare, the insurance advertisements company and he's still under contract with them following their own investigation.
Evans previously said he had never approved of the statement that was issued by the BBC in January in which he apologised for making an "inappropriate and unacceptable" comment.
At the time, a BBC spokesperson said: "The apology issued on Wynne's behalf by the Strictly Come Dancing Tour PR representative on Saturday January 25 was fully approved by Wynne."
Evans also said in his post on Tuesday: "Tim Davie publicly promised that the BBC would safeguard people who took part in Strictly.
"I thought about that promise while sitting in a psychiatrist's office near the BBC, staring out of the window at the BBC building, fighting to save my own life. That's how close I came to the edge.
"I'm not writing this as a victim, as I said I will own my mistakes. I'm writing it because the system is broken.
"Strictly is now fundamentally flawed in its duty of care. It's allowed to continue because of ratings, while people's wellbeing is left in tatters."
In May, he told the Sun that the comment he made on the Strictly Come Dancing tour was not sexual or directed at one of the female cast, but instead was a nickname for fellow contestant, EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick.
In June, the opera singer announced his return to radio with The Wynne Evans Show, a live weekday internet broadcast.
DARK DAYS
It comes after Wynne told The Sun he wanted to take his own life in his darkest moments.
He only found out he'd been fired by the BBC after reading it in The Sun - and days later ­discovered his BBC pass was deactivated without warning.
He told us: 'One of the things I was disappointed with the BBC about is I've spoken openly about my mental health, I've made programmes for the BBC about it, done stuff for Mental Health Day.
"I've done long interviews for them where I've talked about wanting to kill myself.
'Nobody should use that as an excuse if it's not what they're going through. But I've catalogued my mental health for years and I've been really open about it, so it was really hard and I felt like I was pushed to the real end.
'But I am feeling a lot stronger now.'
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