Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans has said he is “heartbroken” over suggestions he made his professional dance partner Katya Jones “uncomfortable” during Saturday night’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The moment happened while presenter Claudia Winkleman revealed that Strictly voting lines were open for viewers to call, and quickly went viral.
A second clip of the pair showing Evans – who is famous for his role in GoCompare insurance adverts – trying to high-five Jones and getting rejected, was also widely shared on social media.
Speaking about the viral moments on Monday on BBC Radio Wales, where he presents a show, Evans said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.
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“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 has been totally misinterpreted.”
He went on: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it. 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.
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“I feel weird apologising because I feel like I’ve not really done anything.”
He agreed he’d “misjudged” the situation but was “absolutely still up for” competing on the show.
Image: Pic:BBC
A BBC spokesperson told Sky News: “Wynne and Katya have confirmed that their interactions in the Clauditorium were silly jokes they had planned together and have apologised to anyone who may have misinterpreted them.
“They addressed them on Wynne’s Instagram, where their apology can be found.
“Katya would like to clarify further that she was not offended by Wynne and was not made to feel uncomfortable in the least – she has also clarified on her Instagram.”
After the pair began trending on social media at the weekend, they posted a video together calling the high-five incident a “silly joke”.
Jones, 35, later responded directly to the clip of her moving Evans’s hand away from the middle of her waist, calling it “a very silly, very silly – inside joke”.
She said the idea it made her uncomfortable or offended was “complete nonsense” and “quite absurd”.
The BBC confirmed that Strictly welfare and production teams had “checked in” on Evans and Jones and that no further actions were planned.
Image: Pic: BBC/PA
The couple danced the tango to ABBA’s Money, Money, Money during Saturday night’s show, achieving their highest score to date, 34 points.
This season marks Strictly’s 20th anniversary with a new cast of celebrities and some changes, including the presence of chaperones “at all times” during rehearsals, following a number of accusations of bullying on the show.
A member of Irish-language rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, has been charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, the Metropolitan Police said.
The 27-year-old from Belfast – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
It comes after counter-terror police assessed a video reported to be from a Kneecap concert.
The charge relates to a flag that O’Hanna allegedly displayed at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
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Image: Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Image: Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Image: Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
Image: David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.