Wynne Evans has broken his silence after being reprimanded by the BBC over a reported backstage prank involving a sex toy during the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.
A video, reportedly shared in the Strictly performers’ WhatsApp group, emerged showing Jamie Borthwick waving the toy backstage at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
The EastEnders actor, 30, said it had been gifted to him as a joke by opera singer Evans, 53, according to the Sun on Sunday.
Borthwick is seen grinning in the footage, saying: “Look at what he bought me. I opened it up and he surprised me with this, didn’t he. It’s so funny.” The camera then pans to Evans, who is topless and rehearsing with professional dancer Neil Jones, according to The Sun on Sunday.
The video was reportedly recorded on January 18 — just two days after Evans made a sexual remark about dancer Janette Manrara at the Strictly tour launch.
Evans has since shared several posts about his mental health on his Instagram Stories, including a selfie on Sunday, after the story broke, about doing “ice therapy”.
He captioned the smiling snap: “Hey it's Sunday. Doing ice therapy tomorrow gonna be wicked #happy #mensmentalhealth.'
The singer, who is best known for the GoCompare insurance adverts, had shared the same photo with a different caption two days earlier about “telling his truth”.
Evans also posted a snap of a plunge pool in his garden on his Stories, writing: “Ice bath view. Love to you all #mentalhealth.”
The posts come as Evans’ former Strictly professional dance partner Katya Jones defended the star.
"I can only obviously speak from my personal experience, but I thought Wynne was incredible," she told The Sun's Fabulous magazine at the weekend.
"We spent a huge amount of time together and we had a brilliant partnership. We got on like a house on fire."
Evans stepped down from the Strictly tour after footage emerged of him making an obscene sexual remark to Manrara.
He issued a public apology at the time, saying: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable, for which I sincerely apologise.”
Evans, a father-of-two, is said to believe his earlier comment was taken out of context. The BBC is understood to have halted an internal investigation into that incident due to concerns over his mental health.
He has since stepped back from his BBC Radio Wales show and is reportedly considering legal action against the BBC for reputational damage.
With the support of his girlfriend Liz Brookes, he is said to have hired lawyers and compiled a 30-page dossier.
A representative for Evans has been contacted for comment.
