BBC bosses slammed by Women's Aid as Strictly Katya Jones 'grope' is 'not a joke'

Strictly Come Dancing has been rocked by yet another controversy surrounding Wynne Evans and his professional partner Katya Jones amid a 'grope' scandal

Women's Aid has furiously hit out at BBC bosses in the wake of the Wynne Evans and Katya Jones Strictly Come Dancing 'grope' scandal.

Opera singer Wynne, 52, and his partner Katya have found themselves at the centre of a scandal, when some fans accused Wynne of making the 35-year-old Russian-British dancer feel uncomfortable.

During Saturday night's live episode of the BBC dance competition, Wynne could be seen putting his hand on Katya's waist, with her then appearing to bat it away. After it was shared widely on social media, it caused drama amongst viewers, with the pair forced to explain that it was an "inside joke".

Despite the debate around what viewers witnessed, Katya has adamantly shut down claims that she was made to feel uncomfortable, or that there is any tension between the pair, insisting that it was all an inside joke. However, a spokesperson from Women's Aid does not see the funny side to the situation.

"Inappropriate behaviour towards women is no laughing matter," they insisted. “With an epidemic of misogyny and violence against women and girls in the UK, we need a media culture where women feel safe to speak up, where sexually inappropriate conduct is not trivialised or joked about.

“It’s important we challenge inappropriate ‘jokes’ so we don’t continue normalising toxic attitudes that cultivate these forms of gender-based abuse," they added to The Sun.

Katya has continued her attempt to patch up any controversy. Sharing a snap with her 249,000 followers on Instagram, Katya and Wynne could be seen posing in front of photos of each judge with all, minus Shirley Ballas, having a drawn on moustache to match Wynne's Go Compare character.

Each image of the judges also had the scores they gave to Katya and Wynne last weekend. Alongside a smiling Wynne, Katya penned: "I'm so proud of you @wynneevans."

She added: "The sweetest welcome back to the rehearsal room." Both Katya and Wynne have been firm in their stance that this was simply a daft joke that went wrong, leading to widespread misinterpretation. And they've now opened up on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two, where Katya attempted to squash any rumours of a beef once and for all.

Speaking to host Fleur East, she stood firm that the idea that she was in any way offended "is total nonsense". She revealed: "The idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense, and those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. So hopefully this will be the end of it, and you just keep making me smile. I can't sit here watching this man being portrayed as someone he's not."

The BBC has declared they will take "no further action" having checked in on opera singer Wynne and his professional partner Katya. While both Wynne and Katya have insisted the wandering hand moment was simply a poorly judged "inside joke" and stressed things are fine between them. Despite the pair's statements, many Strictly fans are wondering why Wynne and Katya haven't let the audience in on the joke if it was simply a bit of fun, rather than inappropriate behaviour.

However, some armchair detectives believe they've cracked the code on why the duo are keeping mum about the actual joke. "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," one speculated, with many viewers agreeing.

Couples can often be seen putting on cosy displays behind host Claudia Winkleman in her so-called 'Clauda-tourium' in between dances, as they show off their support for one another.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.