Opera singer Wynne Evans will leave the Strictly Come Dancing live tour after he made a crude remark about professional dancer Janette Manrara.
The Welsh star has said he will now “take some time out” from his radio show and the Strictly tour after reports mounted he would be sacked by the BBC.
He said: “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.
“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.”
MailOnline reported on (26 January) Sunday that Evans, 53, was caught on film suggesting a group sex session with presenter Janette Manrara and EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick during a photo call for the live tour’s launch. The latter was said to have winced at the remark.
Evans, who rose to fame as the opera star of the GoCompare adverts, apologised after the comments came to light, saying: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable for which I sincerely apologise.”
Manrara’s representative said she did not hear the comment. Meanwhile, A spokesperson for the Strictly live tour and BBC Studios: “We were not previously aware of the remark and did not receive any complaints.
“We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour.”
A source told The Sun: “He’s had repeated warnings about his behaviour and told to reign it in. He’s not been taking it in, in this day and age the BBC have to be seen taking action and safeguard everyone.
Further reports have suggested that Evans will be taking time off from presenting his morning breakfast show on BBC Radio Wales following the crude remarks. The Independent has contacted the BBC and Evans’ representatives for comment.
It comes after Evans sparked controversy with a hand fiasco “joke” that saw him put his hand on his professional partner Katya Jones’s stomach, in which Jones awkwardly removed his hand and placed it on her hip instead.
Later, a separate clip was shared by viewers who noticed that Jones refused to give Evans a high five while standing behind the show’s co-host Claudia Winkleman. Jones turned her back on Evans and seemingly rolled her eyes at the opera singer.
At the time, Jones came to Evans’ defence, saying that the moment was a “silly inside joke” and that the reaction to it was “absurd”.
She said: “The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly inside joke between Wynne and I, so even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in any way is complete nonsense.
In the earlier video, Jones had said: “Hi everyone, it’s Wynne and Katya here. We just wanted to say, we were just messing around in the Clauditorium on Saturday night. We just wanted to say sorry. It was a silly joke.”
Evans chimed in, saying: “Yeah. Sorry.” He then wrote in the video caption: “Apologies for this tonight, we were just messing around. We really are amazing friends. The high fives [are] a running joke. Have a great evening.”
The Strictly live tour is running at various UK stadiums throughout January and February, with the celebrity cast of the 2024 series – including Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks and JB Gill – as well as a lineup of professional dancers including Amy Dowden.
Evans was the eighth contestant to be eliminated from the 2024 series, and said upon his exit that he was shocked by the “lies” reported about him during his time on the programme.
“I’m still astounded that people are allowed to write any, for want of a better word, lies that they want,” he said on the BBC Radio Wales Breakfast Show. “I’m disappointed that I’ve seen that side of life.”
He continued: “The Strictly family are perfect in every way. The press are a different kettle of fish.”
Last year, the BBC dancing competition faced accusations of bullying and abusive behaviour, which forced the broadcaster to apologise and fire two professional dancers – Giovanni Pernice and Graziano di Prima – from the cast. In response, the BBC has introduced a set of duty-of-care measures for the 2024 series and ensured chaperones would be present in rehearsal rooms, while two welfare specialists have joined the production team.
