‘I can’t stand it,’ says Katya Jones as she confirms ‘groping’ was a joke during first reunion with Wynne Evans since scandal

STRICTLY’S Katya Jones has confirmed that Wynne Evan’s ‘groping’ during Saturday’s show was just a joke.

Russian dancer Katya, 35, reunited for the first time since the speculation started today and furiously defended the opera singer in It Takes Two this evening.

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It was just hours ago that Strictly star Wynne, 52, revealed his ‘heartbreak’ during the row on his BBC Radio Wales show.

The GoCompare face, who was seen this weekend with his hand around Katya’s waist, said it was “a stupid joke gone wrong”.

It comes after Katya, 35, refused to give a high-five to the face of GoCompare, sparking rumors of a fallout.

After Strictly’s Week Four wrapped, the duo – who had performed a Tango earlier in the evening – quickly released a video apology, insisting it was all a harmless “inside joke”.

Today, Wynne told his listeners, “I am absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me over the past day.

“It’s not fun to live in those times, but actually Katya and I are very close and very good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.

“It was a stupid joke that went wrong, okay?

“We thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny.

“It was completely misinterpreted.”

The broadcaster then spoke about his ‘brilliant friendship’ with the Russian, adding: ‘It’s all on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it.’

Despite fans demanding that the pair clarify exactly what “the joke” was, Wynne did not explain further.

He said: “She explained it was a joke. She wasn’t offended at all. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

‘We have a brilliant friendship, an absolutely close friendship, and I’m sorry if anyone was offended by that, but it was a joke.

‘And that’s it. There’s really no real story.’

PURE BANTS

Wynne was referring to the video Katya uploaded to her social media pages over the weekend.

In the clip, which was posted shortly after the online chaos ensued, Katya told fans: “Hello everyone, this is Wynne and Katya. We just wanted to say that we were messing around in the clauditorium on Saturday night and we just want to say sorry say.”

She added: “It was a stupid joke.”

While Wynne repeated: “Yes, sorry.”

Katya then hit back a second time in a new video upload.

On Sunday afternoon, Katya returned to Instagram with another message for her fans.

She said: “Happy Sunday everyone. Now I have to make something crystal clear.

“The hand incident that took place on Sunday evening was indeed a very stupid inside joke.

“So even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in some way is complete nonsense.

‘It’s actually quite absurd.

“Now we can just focus on how brilliantly he is doing and what a great dancer he is becoming.”

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BAD TASTE?

The pair’s banter came after the BBC series was engulfed by a series of scandals – although there is no suggestion Katya and Wynne’s joke was inappropriate.

The findings of an investigation into the conduct of former Strictly professional Giovanni Pernice were published earlier this month.

The report confirmed six of the seventeen allegations against pro-dancer Gio.

The BBC has now apologized to his former show partner, actress Amanda Abbington, over the program’s bullying scandal.

It was claimed that the company spent an eye-watering six-figure sum on the study.

Meanwhile, the same investigation also saw Giovanni’s fellow Italian pro Graziano Di Prima suspended following allegations of “physical incidents” against show partner Zara McDermott, 27.

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