Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Wynne Evans has revealed that he’s “paid the ultimate price” after being at the centre of various scandals while on the BBC show
Strictly Come Dancing former star Wynne Evans has admitted that he’s learning from his mistakes after his various scandals on the show. The 53-year-old, who is best known for starring in the Go Compare insurance adverts, competed on last year’s series of the dance competition with professional Katya Jones.
During the series, viewers spotted Katya moving Wynne’s hand away from her waist during one live show as well as refusing to high-five him on air. Speaking to Good Morning Britain yesterday, Wynne admitted that the incident “does look creepy”.
“I apologise for that,” he said. “What happened was… Katya said to me, ‘look let’s get down the front, you put your hand on my waist, I’ll move it back, we’ll see if anyone notices’.
“It was as simple as that, a body language experiment, and of course it was naïve of me, I hadn’t realised, I’ve never lived in this world before where everybody kind of just looks at everything you do.
“Of course it looked weird on the TV, it looked really, really odd, when I watch it back now I’m like ‘oh no’, but it was just messing around in the ‘Claudatorium’, and it was hijinks, if you like.”
Wynne was later dropped from his BBC radio show and the Strictly Come Dancing tour for using “inappropriate language” during the show launch, with the actor appearing to use the S.E.X.U.A.L.L.Y explicit term “spit-roast” in a video. He explained that the word was his “nickname for one of the other contestants” but added that it was “not an appropriate word for the workplace”.
He went onto say that his behaviour was “totally stupid” and that he “paid the ultimate price” concerning his career, adding: “I’m learning from my mistakes but not letting them define me for the rest of my life.”
Wynne also revealed that he had “ended up in hospital” after attempting S.U.I.C.I.D.E following the scandals.
“I went on a dancing show and ended up trying to take my own life,” he told GMB’s Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid. “I did end up in hospital – somebody found me, rung an ambulance and luckily for me, I’m here today.”
He added that he felt he had no choice after being hounded by people on social media and the press. “They hound and hound and hound you. It’s been interesting watching the Caroline Flack programme of late because in your head, you go, ‘The only way I can make these people stop is by taking my life,'” he said.
“You’re punishing not them, you’re actually punishing yourself and your family. I’ve realised that since but at the time, I thought the only way I could make this noise stop in my head.”
When asked whether he would sign up for Strictly if we could turn back time, Wynne said: “I wish I’d had a better insight into it before I went into it. It’s given me a greater understanding of my own mental health and where I am in my life and how I can help other people who don’t want to talk about mental health.”
