Strictly Come Dancing’s Wynne Evans and Katya Jones have found themselves in the spotlight this week for all the wrong reasons – and now it looks like things could be getting even worse.
The Welsh opera star and his professional dance partner were forced to apologise after last weekend’s live show when they say two ‘in-jokes’ backfired dramatically. Fans of the BBC show rushed to social media to comment on video clips that went viral – one that showed Katya apparently refusing to ‘high five’ Wynne and another featuring Wynne’s hand wandering across her waist before she brushed it away.
Since then Wynne has said during an on-air chat with a Radio Wales colleague that he is “heartbroken” about the row over what he called a “misjudged” inside joke.
A week on, things don’t appear to be getting any better as he’s now received a last-minute blow ahead of week five’s live show – the pair are among the favourites to be eliminated this weekend.
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing fans ‘heartbroken’ for Wynne Evans as they ‘work out’ joke with Katya Jones
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The GoCompare star was a 20/1 chance when betting opened at BetMGM, but the bookmaker has cut his price all the way down to 9/2 and he is now the third favourite to dance for the last time on Sunday evening.
Just a week before the ill-judged prank, Wynne was being touted as possibly following in the footsteps of previous winner Hamza Yassin, who came from nowhere to lift the Glitterball trophy.
Body language specialist Darren Stanton, speaking on behalf of Betfair Slingo, forecasted that Wynne could very well clinch the title, noting his unique qualities as a contestant.
“Wynne is a strong contender when it comes to winning the competition. He has something different to offer out of everyone else. You’ll notice when he’s receiving feedback, he actively listens, takes everything on board and wants to learn from it,” observed Darren at the time.
“He reminds me of Hamza Yassin. No one expected him to win in the beginning, he was overlooked – but he was so passionate about learning and developing his skills. He’s thrown himself into the process wholeheartedly and is giving everything his best shot.”
Ahead of Wynne, Paul Merson is again the favourite to leave Strictly this weekend at 10/11 with Punam Krishan, who was bottom of last week’s leaderboard, a 13/4 shot.
UK Director at BetMGM, Sam Behar, said: “Paul Merson might be the favourite to leave Strictly this weekend but Wynne Evans certainly isn’t without a chance of leaving.
“He looked a lively outsider a couple of weeks ago in the outright betting but the news this week certainly hasn’t helped his chances and he’s been very well-backed to exit on Sunday night.
“He opened up at 20/1 but is now just 9/2, with only Paul Merson (10/11) and Punam Krishan (13/4) shorter in the next elimination betting.”
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday and on BBC iPlayer
