WYNNE Evans has accused the BBC of abandoning him in the wake of a series of controversies that erupted during and after his time on Strictly Come Dancing.
In his first public TV appearance since the scandal the opera singer, 53, claimed he had not been contacted by the BBC after being axed from his Radio Wales show.
Jamie and Wynne Evans both appeared in the video[/caption]
He appeared on Strictly alongside Katya Jones and addressed a ‘catalogue of moments’ that caused a backlash[/caption]
Wynne previously spoke to The Sun about the extent of his mental health battles following the scandal[/caption]
The corporation said he was offered a dedicated contact and mental health support.
“I haven’t heard from the BBC since I got suspended, personally,” Wynne told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
“Sometimes I think it’s lip service that they do.
“Mental health is a really grey area — they can say we’ve got that policy in place, but actually you have to look after the people.
“Because in the flip of a light switch, the light can go out.”
Evans described how the pressure and media scrutiny following Strictly became so intense that he was placed under a crisis team and considered taking his own life.
“At one point I remember saying to my girlfriend, I have to take my own life,” he admitted.
“I was under the crisis team for a month where they just looked after you the whole time.
“My friends, family and girlfriend did a rota where they looked after me because it was relentless.
“I said sorry to my daughter I’m sorry because I brought shame on the family — because even though I didn’t do what they said I did, I still brought all these headlines.
“She said, ‘Look Dad, I know you. You are a kind person. I’ve seen the video for myself I know exactly what you said’. So they’ve been absolutely brilliant.”
The tenor and former Go Compare frontman addressed several incidents that generated headlines during his time on the Strictly live tour.
He spoke about the now-infamous “sex toy” incident involving fellow contestant Jamie Borthwick.
“We’re on tour, spending 24 hours a day with people, you get to know people really well,” he said.
“It was a joke that went too far. He [Jamie] was talking about this thing backstage — I ordered it off Amazon, and as soon as he opened it, the joke was over.
“It went straight in the bin. I didn’t know he sent a video to a friend. And yeah, it was a joke that went too far. I apologise for that.”
Another moment under scrutiny was when Evans was accused of inappropriately touching professional dancer Katya Jones during rehearsals.
Wynne said Katya planned the moment, and she dragged him to closer to the cameras as they stood in the gallery with Claudia Winkleman,
“I totally understand that and I apologise,” he said.
“I don’t want to sit here today coming across as a victim because I’m not — I’m naive.
“Katya says to me, ‘Have you seen what people are saying on Twitter, Instagram?’
“I’m sat in make-up and I’m like, ‘Oh my word.’ I showed it to her and I say, ‘We need to make an apology video.’
“So we did — it was 50 seconds long.”
He said the BBC made him cut it short which he insisted was the wrong decision.
He said: “I showed it to Strictly, they said no, it needs to be 10 seconds.
“So then it looks like this weird hostage video.”
Evans also explained his side of a viral controversy involving a misheard comment during a photo call, where it was alleged he directed an offensive term toward professional dancer Janette Manrara.
“The reporters had left, we were there having stills (photos) taken. I was there talking to JB [Jamie Borthwick] — I had this nickname for him, which was ‘old boy’, because he could contort his…
“There was a reporter recording from a distance away, they took out the words ‘old’ and ‘boy’, which you can absolutely see in the video, it’s crystal clear.
“Even though I’m looking at Jamie, they claimed I’m directing this word at Janette.
“Taken out of context, the narrative was so wrong on it.
“I was mortified, absolutely mortified. I spoke to Janette afterwards — she didn’t hear it.
“There’s never been any complaints about me ever.”
Evans revealed the moment the press tour rang him to question the alleged remark.
“I’d just lost my brother, I’d broken my foot, I was lying in a hotel room, papers calling me. The Strictly press tour rang me saying I’m meant to have said this word. I said, ‘Oh God, I’m sorry.’
“They took that as an apology and sent it to the papers — that looked like I’d validated the story.”
Presenter Ben Shephard described the situation as a “catalogue of moments” that led viewers to question Evans’ character.
Wynne replied: “I totally understand that. It was interesting, actually — I saw you when the kilt was lifted on Lorraine — that’s a very similar situation.
“I did a stupid thing, but the narrative was changed. When I’m reading a headline that says ‘sex pest’…”
Evans, who proposed to his girlfriend in Morocco, said he regrets signing up to Strictly.
He said: “I wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t a safe environment for me.
“I loved Katya and the guys that were there. I’m happy now to be back in Wales.”
He also revealed that he’s launching his own new radio show: The Wynne Evans Show, airing weekdays from 9am to 12pm on his website.
“I’m going to start my own show on Monday,” he said, adding: “I’m happy to be moving on.”
