Strictly’s Katya Jones defends dance partner Wynne Evans over ‘hand incident’

Professional dancer Katya Jones has defended her Strictly Come Dancing partner Wynne Evans, saying he has been “portrayed as someone he is not” after an incident during Saturday’s show when she moved his hand from her waist.

Appearing on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two on Monday alongside Evans, Jones said she wanted to “get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason”.

“Quite frankly I can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he is not,” she said.

“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.”

She added: “Even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense.”

Evans said he had watched the moment back and he “could see how people may have misinterpreted it”.

On Saturday’s show, Jones had brushed Evans’ hand away as he moved it across her waist, before snubbing his attempt at a high-five.

The incident, caught on the show’s cameras, caused some people to ask if it was evidence of inappropriate behaviour by the male contestant towards his female dance partner. The BBC said its welfare team had looked into the matter and was not planning to take further action.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales earlier on Monday, Evans said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day. 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, OK? We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny. It has been totally misinterpreted.”

He added that Jones had “explained that it was a joke”, saying: “She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”

Evans said: “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.”

Jones said in an Instagram post on Sunday, in which she appeared alongside Evans, that: “The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was an inside – a very silly, 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.

“It’s quite absurd actually. Now, can we just focus on how brilliantly he’s doing and what an amazing dancer he’s becoming?”

Footage showed Evans standing behind and to the side of Jones during a segment of the show referred to as the Clauditorium – in which the host Claudia Winkleman talks to the dancers. His hand is initially on her waist and, without breaking her smile, Jones is seen to push it away as he moves it frontwards.

In another segment, Evans holds his hands up to initiate a high-five with Jones, whose back is to the camera. But she turns away from him – this time without a smile.

A Strictly source told the PA news agency: “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.

“The welfare team have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned.”

Strictly returned in September this year for its 20th anniversary with a new cast of celebrities and some changes, including the presence of chaperones during rehearsals.

The chaperones followed a review launched by the corporation after Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington made complaints about her 2023 Strictly professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice.