Strictly Come Dancing’s Wynne Evans hits back at claims he made a sexual slur against his co-star Janette Manrara as he accuses the press of manipulating the video
Strictly Come Dancing star Wynne Evans has claimed that a video taken of him making a sexual slur against professional dancer Janette Manrara was “manipulated.” The opera singer, 53, best known for his Go Compare adverts, was caught on camera in January making a vile “spit roast” remark towards a co-star.
The footage shows Wynne standing in the middle of a line-up of the entire cast in Birmingham as Janette, who is the host of the BBC spin-off show It Takes Two, is asked to join them.
Wynne was recorded making an inappropriate sexual comment to Janette Manrara, who acts as host on the tour, when she walked over to the group. He sang out: “Go Compare,” before adding: “Not too close to Jamie [Borthwick].” He then used the hugely demeaning term “spit roast” in reference to a lewd sexual act.
At the time, Evans said in a statement to the Mirror: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable, for which I sincerely apologise.” He was seen with the tour cast as they turned up to Liverpool after having to pull out of the Glasgow shows due to an injury. However, he was later pulled from the tour entirely.
Yet Wynne appears to have made a U-turn by denying making the comments caught on camera.
And fans were not quick to jump to his defence, instead one person took to Facebook and wrote: “You did say that awful comment about a woman just doing her job. “
They continued: “It was caught on camera. So how could the press have manipulated that?”
They added: “I’m sure you are sorry you’ve been caught and there’s footage to prove that disgusting thing you said. But how can you blame the press for something you did?”
Wynne replied: “The audio was manipulated. I didn’t say what they said.”
He then later followed up on his denial and wrote: “Thank you everyone for your support I promise you I have done nothing wrong, it’s been a manipulation and totally changing of the narrative of private conversations by the press.”
Following the video, Wynne pulled out of the nationwide tour and is also on a break from his BBC Wales show.
The broadcaster has launched an investigation into his behaviour and the conclusion is believed to be revealed in a couple of weeks.
A BBC spokesperson previously confirmed they had spoken to Wynne and stated they “do not tolerate such behaviour.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the live tour said: “We were not previously aware of the remark and did not receive any complaints. We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour.”
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