Strictly's Wynne Evans sets record straight amidst claims he 'vanished' from BBC set

star became a major talking point among viewers after it was noticed that his professional dance partner moved his hand from her waist.

At the time, many had jumped on board the discussion including domestic violence charity Women's Aid, despite both Wynne and Katya claiming it was an inside joke. So it's perhaps no surprise that viewers jumped to the conclusion that his disappearance act over the weekend was linked to the recent "grope" scandal.

Adding more weight to that theory was the fact that the opera singer, best known for being the face of Go Compare, seemed subdued last weekend. However, speaking on Radio Wales, he said: "There were some people saying like, Wynne has disappeared from the Clauditorium. And like there's all these conspiracy theories. The reality was, I had to go and get my trousers redone. Because they were sticking to the sticky tape on the side."

He added: "So I was being sewn into my costume downstairs." The pair had performed a quickstep to Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra. After Katya was seen moving Wynne's hand from her waist, it seemed there was tension between the two as she also refused to high-five the star.

But speaking on the spin-off show It Takes Two, Katya explained: "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." Earlier this month, the pair seemed to put on a united front as they were pictured laughing a joking while out in Cardiff.

With her head tilted back, the professional dancer appeared to have found something Wynne said hilarious as they made their way through the city. However, after the clip of Katya removing his hand from her waist went viral, and then refusing to high-five her dance partner, domestic violence charity Women's Aid had a few words to say.

A statement read: "Inappropriate behaviour towards women is no joke. With an epidemic of misogyny and violence against women and girls in the UK, we need a media culture where women feel safe to speak up, where sexually inappropriate conduct is not trivialised or joked about."

The statement added: "It’s important we challenge inappropriate ‘jokes’ so we don’t continue normalising toxic attitudes that cultivate these forms of gender-based abuse." The duo were training in Cardiff ahead of the live show and Wynne was presenting his BBC Radio Wales lunchtime show.

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