The BBC won’t be taking any further action after checking in with Wynne Evans and Katya Jones regarding the awkward incident that occurred over the weekend, a source has revealed.
The moment, which saw Jones seemingly push his hand away during Saturday’s live show, was described by the duo as an unexplained “in-joke.”
Appearing on It Takes Two on Monday, the pro dancer defended her celebrity partner, calling out critics for “attacking” him.
A TV insider has now confirmed that Jones “was not offended” and the “welfare and production teams have checked in” with them both.
The source told The Standard: “Wynne and Katya have confirmed that their interactions in the Clauditorium were silly jokes they had planned together and have apologised to anyone who may have misinterpreted them.
“They addressed them on Wynne's Instagram, where their apology can be found. Katya would like to clarify further that she was not offended by Wynne and was not made to feel uncomfortable in the least – she has also clarified on her Instagram.
“The welfare and production teams have checked in on the pair and there are no further actions planned.”
The Standard has contacted the BBC for comment.
The update comes after Jones said she “can’t bear” how her Strictly partner has been “portrayed as someone he is not” after a moment during Saturday night’s show saw her move his hand from her waist.
The dancing duo appeared on BBC spin-off show It Takes Two where Jones said she wanted to “get something out of the way that I feel overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason” after a clip showing the incident was widely shared on social media.
Jones rigorously dismissed suggestions she was made to feel “uncomfortable or offended”, describing claims as “total nonsense”.
“Quite frankly I can’t bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he is not,” she told It Takes Two host Fleur East.
“And in fact it couldn’t be further away from the truth so 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.”
Opera singer Evans, known for the Go Compare insurance adverts, said he had watched the moment back and he “could see how people may have misinterpreted it”.
Jones added: “Even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense.
“Those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. Hopefully this will be the end of it.
“He just keep making me smile please, because my Sunday was pretty boring without you making me belly laugh all day long.”
It comes amid heightened scrutiny of the popular BBC One dancing show after a number of celebrities spoken about their treatment on the long-running series, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary year.
Evans, 52, previously told BBC Radio Wales: “I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day.
“It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really 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 has been totally misinterpreted.
“Everything’s on Katya’s socials. She’s talked about it. She’s explained that it was a joke. She wasn’t offended in the least. She doesn’t feel uncomfortable.
“We’ve got a brilliant friendship, an absolutely tight friendship, and I’m sorry if anybody was offended by it, but it was a joke and yeah, that’s all there is, there is no real story, really.
“And I feel weird apologising because I feel like I’ve not really done anything.”
On Sunday, Evans and 35-year-old Jones released a video on Instagram saying they were “just messing around in the Clauditorium on Saturday night and just want to say sorry. It was a silly joke”.
In another moment on Saturday night, Jones appeared to not want to high-five her celebrity partner.
A caption alongside their video explained that “high 5’s is a running joke”.
