Strictly Come Dancing stars Wynne Evans and Katya Jones have responded to the controversy they inadvertently found themselves at the centre of following this weekend’s live show.
During Saturday night’s live broadcast, Wynne raised eyebrows when he was spotted moving his hand across Katya’s middle while standing in the background of the studio, to which she responded by moving his hand away.
Later in the broadcast, as part of a group celebration, he was seen motioning for her to high-five him, which she seemed unwilling to do, turning away with a displeased look on her face, before smiling in the direction of the camera.
Since Saturday night, the clip has already received upwards of 16 million views on X alone, prompting a swift response from the Strictly duo.
“We just wanted to say we were just messing around on Saturday night,” Katya insisted in an Instagram post shared on Wynne’s account. “And we just want to say sorry, it was a silly joke.”
“Sorry,” the opera singer agreed.
The pair were still wearing their costumes from Saturday night in the short clip, suggesting it was recorded backstage at Strictly.
On Sunday, Katya then uploaded a second video from her home, which she shared on her own Instagram page.
“I need to make something crystal clear,” Katya began. “The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly, very silly inside joke between Wynne and I. So, even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is complete nonsense. It’s quite absurd, actually.”
She added: “Now, can we just focus on how brilliantly he’s doing and what an amazing dancer he’s becoming.”
Katya then abruptly ended the clip as she heard her doorbell ring, adding: “Delivery, sorry! Got to go!”
HuffPost UK has contacted the BBC for additional comment.
Wynne and Katya will return to the dance floor this weekend, after sailing through to the next stage of the contest in Sunday’s results show.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One at 6.25pm on Saturday night.