STRICTLY’S Katya Jones has confirmed Wynne Evans’ ‘grope’ during Saturday’s show was simply a joke.
Reuniting publicly for the first time since speculation kicked off, Russian dancer Katya, 35, furiously defended the opera singer on It Takes Two this evening.
It was just hours ago that Wynne, 52, revealed his “heartbreak” over the row on his BBC Radio Wales show.
The GoCompare face, who was seen with his hand around Katya‘s waist over the weekend, said it was “a stupid joke that had gone wrong”.
Speaking on the Strictly spin-off this evening, Katya verified his account, telling host Fleur East she “can’t bear” the fan frenzy that’s followed.
After being asked how she found their routine on Saturday, the ballroom pro replied: “Sorry Fleur, sorry. I will get on to dancing I promise, but can you at least let us get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason.”
She then went on to fight Wynne’s corner, telling the X Factor alum that the wanted to set the record straight for viewers.
Katya said: “Quite frankly, I actually can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he’s not and in fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth.
“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.”
Wynne added: “Yeah, I watched it back and I can see how people may have misinterpreted it.”
Katya continued: “However it was a joke and even 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 can you just keep making me smile please because my Sunday was pretty boring without you making me belly laugh.”
BBC viewers thought they’d seen Katya refusing to high-five Wynne on Saturday night – sparking rumours of a fallout.
After Strictly’s Week Four wrapped, the duo – who had performed a Tango earlier in the night – were quick to issue a video apology and insisted it was all an innocent “inside joke”.
Today, Wynne told his listeners: “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 was been totally misinterpreted.”
The broadcaster then gushed over his “brilliant friendship” with the Russian and added: “Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it.”
Despite fans demanding the pair clarify exactly what “the joke” was, Wynne didn’t explain any further.
He said: “She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
“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.
“And that’s all there is. There is no real story, really.”
Wynne was referring to the video Katya had uploaded to her social media pages this weekend.
The clip – posted shortly after the online chaos ensued – saw Katya tell fans: “Hi everyone, it’s Wynne and Katya here, we just wanted to say we were messing around in the clauditorium on Saturday night and we just want to say sorry.”
She added: “It was a silly joke.”
While Wynne echoed: “Yeah, sorry.”
Katya then hit back a second time in a another video upload.
On Sunday afternoon, Katya returned to Instagram with another message for her fans.
She said: “Happy Sunday everyone. Now, I need to make something crystal clear.
“The hand incident that happened on Sunday night was indeed a very silly inside joke.
“So even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in anyway is complete nonsense.
“It’s quite absurd actually.
“Now can we just focus on how brilliant he is doing and what an amazing dancer that he’s becoming.”
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Wynne Evans and Katya Jones
The pair’s banter came after the BBC series was engulfed in a string of scandals – though there is no suggestion Katya and Wynne’s joke was inappropriate.
The findings of a probe into former Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour were published earlier this month.
The report upheld six out of 17 allegations against pro dancer Gio.
The BBC has now apologised to his former show partner, actress Amanda Abbington, over the programme’s bullying scandal.
It was claimed the corporation spent an eye-watering six-figure sum on the investigation.
Meanwhile, the same investigation also saw Giovanni’s fellow Italian pro Graziano Di Prima axed after allegations of “physical incidents” towards show partner Zara McDermott, 27.
