Wynne Evans broke down in tears during his first televised interview since his Strictly Come Dancing scandal, admitting that he contemplated suicide over the public backlash. The radio presenter’s time on the BBC show was plagued with controversy, beginning when he was seen sliding his hand across professional partner Katya Jones’ stomach live on air before she moved it away.

She later leapt to Wynne’s defence and insisted that nothing inappropriate had happened. During the Strictly tour, Wynne came under-fire when a video emerged of him allegedly making a crude remark at Janette Manrara, after which he was axed from the tour.

Wynne Evans became emotional as he detailed the mental toll his scandals took on his mental health
Wynne appeared on This Morning today to speak about his series of scandals while on the BBC show – and revealed that the negative attention had taken a severe toll on his mental health.

“It took me into the darkest spot of my life. When the headlines keep coming and coming and coming, when something gets picked up and it just doesn’t stop,” he said.

“I was at my lowest ebb, I wanted to end my life. I would have if I hadn’t been surrounded by people. At one point, one the newspapers was so relentless, I remember saying to my girlfriend, ‘I have to k!ll myself. I have to because this is what they want,'” he said, breaking down in tears.

“You’re full of these thoughts the entire time and it takes over your life.”

He added that he was monitored by a crisis team for a month and that his friends, family and girlfriend set up a rota to ensure that someone was with him 24 hours a day.

Wynne added that he hadn’t heard from the BBC since he was suspended and that they had only spoken to his lawyers. While presenter Ben Shephard read a statement from the BBC which said: “We provided comprehensive duty of care for Wynne that included support by wellbeing professionals.

“He was also provided with direct access to a designated contact at the BBC who was available to assist him at anytime. Plus he has been offered continued support since his contract with the BBC concluded.”

Wynne Evans on Strictly Come Dancing ( 
Image:
BBC)
When asked whether he was aware that he had that option by Ben, Wynne said: “I wasn’t aware…I just think sometimes mental health is talked about, we have world mental health week, we have mental health day and all these initiatives but I fear sometimes it’s just lip service.

“I think we’ve become brilliant with equality, and opening access to people with abilities and disabilities but mental health is still a really grey area where we can say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ve got this policy in place, we’ve got that policy in place,’ but really you need to look after these people with mental health issues because in a flip of a light switch the light can go out.”

During the interview, Wynne also repeated his explanation behind his ‘spit roast’ to Janette Manrara during a Strictly photocall, which he described as a joke directed at Jamie Borthwick which had nothing to do with Janette.

The star also came under fire for sending Jamie a s3x toy, which the EastEnders actor showed off in a leaked video. Wynne said that it was “a joke that went too far” between the friends.

At the end of May, Wynne was axed by the BBC, with the broadcaster choosing not to renew his contract. This means that he won’t be returning to his radio show on BBC Radio Wales.

He said in an emotional statement: “My beloved Wynners, From the very depths of my heart — thank you. These past few months, your love has been the light in my darkest days. Every message, every word of encouragement, every moment you stood by me has carried me through more than you could ever know.

“It breaks my heart to say the BBC has decided not to renew my contract so I won’t be returning to my radio show. I’m gutted. That show wasn’t just work — it was home. It was us. We laughed, we cried, we sang like nobody was listening. And somehow, through the airwaves, we became a family.”

Over the weekend, Wynne announced that he had proposed to his girlfriend Liz Brookes during a holiday to Marrakesh, Morocco. Sharing the news on Instagram, he wrote: “Big news… I got engaged! This weekend in Morocco, somewhere between the couscous, the camels, and me limping around the souks like a man with no spatial awareness, I proposed to Liz — and she said yes! (No take-backs, I’ve checked.)

“She’s clever, she’s kind, she’s got excellent taste in men. Absolutely no idea how I pulled that off, but here we are! Feeling very lucky, very happy, and just a tiny bit smug.”