Strictly Come Dancing professional Katya Jones has responded to the news that Wynne Evans has left the current Strictly tour.
Opera singer and Go Compare advert actor Wynne announced that he is "taking time off" from both the tour and his BBC Radio Wales show after he reportedly made a sexualised remark during the photocall for the Strictly tour in Birmingham.
In an Instagram Story, Wynne's show partner Katya shared his announcement and added: "Let's show humanity and consideration. I will miss you my darling boy."
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Katya previously defended Wynne during a controversy that occurred on a live show, where she was seen removing his hand from her waist.
"I need to make something crystal clear," she said at the time. "The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly inside joke between Wynne and I.
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"So even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is complete nonsense. It's actually absurd."
Wynne's statement about his departure reads: "I've agreed with the BBC that I'll take some time out from my radio show and the Strictly Live tour, as well as my other public commitments, to prioritise my wellbeing.
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"I am deeply sorry for the pain my inappropriate actions have caused, and plan to take this time for self-reflection. Apologies to those I won't get to see at the remaining performances and I'm grateful to my fellow tour gang for all the amazing support they have given me."
Regarding his photocall comments, a spokesperson for the Strictly Live Tour and BBC Studios said: "We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour. We were not previously aware of the remark and did not receive any complaints."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
