BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Wynne Evans 'inside joke' explanation leaves fans fearing for star

Opera singer Wynne Evans and his professional partner Katya Jones have explained the controversial moment on Strictly Come Dancing was an 'inside joke'

Strictly Come Dancing enthusiasts have expressed concern for Wynne Evans following the tension during Saturday night's live show. After an uneasy incident, the BBC has stated that "no further action" will be taken after checking in on opera singer Wynne and his dance partner Katya Jones.

The episode involved a moment of discomfort when Katya guided Wynne's hand away from her waist, which led to some backlash. Addressing the situation on Monday night, Katya highlighted her upset at how Wynne was being "portrayed as someone he is not" Both Wynne and Katya have clarified that the misinterpreted gesture was an "inside joke" gone wrong and assured that their relationship is unharmed.

Despite their explanations, fans are puzzled as to why the pair haven't shared the joke with viewers if it was all in good fun, rather than being deemed inappropriate. However, some viewers think they've figured out the reason behind their silence: "One explanation given to me was they they were poking fun at other couples for all their hugging and kissing and that's why they can't say what the joke was," a fan theorised on social media.

Several fans have expressed their concern for Wynne amidst the backlash, with one writing: "Wynne is being cancelled on social media and I find it heartbreaking. Anyone who has any sort of personality gets shut down these days. I don't believe he's a perv. I believe Katya when she says it was a joke."

Another vented: "For god's sake, she says there was no problem, he says there wasn't a problem. So there wasn't a problem. Why are people looking for stuff, when two adults say there are no issues? " One irate fan declared: "Not all strictly fans want him axed, I love watching them and looking forward to next week. He's had my vote every week and that won't change.", reports the Mirror.

A BBC source told the Mirror about the incident on Tuesday: "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. The welfare and production teams have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned."

Wynne and Katya graced the set of BBC's It Takes Two on Monday night, during which time Katya addressed the online buzz about their recent escapade. She expressed frustration that it had unnecessarily overshadowed their performance, saying it made them "get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason".

Dismissing claims that she was "uncomfortable or offended" as rubbish, Katya told host Fleur East: "Quite frankly I can't bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he is not," adding, "And in fact it couldn't be further away from the truth so I have to make this 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."

Wynne recognized that the action "could see how people may have misinterpreted it", while Katya further pressed: "Even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense. Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. Hopefully this will be the end of it. He just keep making me smile please, because my Sunday was pretty boring without you making me belly laugh all day long."

Opera singer Wynne opened up to listeners on BBC Radio Wales, airing his grievances concerning the backlash over recent media reports. He said: "I'm absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day."

Acknowledging the negative impact, he said, "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, okay, we thought it was funny. It wasn't funny. It has been totally misinterpreted."

In an attempt to set the record straight, the father-of-two noted that his dance partner Katya has spoken up about the incident on her social media profiles: "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 yeah, that's all there is, there is no real story, really. And I feel weird apologising because I feel like I've not really done anything."

Despite this, in light of the strong reactions, Wynne admitted during his appearance on the Radio Wales Breakfast show that he had "misjudged it" and reinforced his joy at participating in the contest: "I'm having the best time of my life. I just don't want this to be the bit that people remember."