Wynne Evans has said his goal is to be ‘a better person’ after years of masking his true self, in a poorly timed moment from his new TV show.
Wynne, 53 – who took part in last year’s Strictly Come Dancing- was caught on film by The Mail on Sunday this month making a vile sexual comment about one of the show’s female hosts.
Wynne has since agreed with the Beeb to step away from the tour and any other work commitments to ‘take some time out’ as the inappriopriate jibe looks set to sink his entire career.
But his new BBC show All At Sea, which sees him and fellow Welsh star Joanna Page touring their favourite spots in their home country, is continuing to air, with the first episode released in the middle of the furore on Monday night.
All six episodes, filmed last summer, are available on iPlayer and in the fourth installment Wynne admits the travel show has been ‘cathartic’ and has helped with his mental health issues.
Speaking about his battle with depression and anxiety, Wynne explained that ‘it‘s been really good for me to have a reboot. The anxiety started when I was a kid. When I went through a marriage break-up my depression really kicked in and I just spiralled’.
Wynne Evans has said his goal is to be ‘a better person’ after years of masking his true self, in a poorly timed moment from his new TV show
He admitted he has become adept at masking his true self explaining: ‘There’s an opera called Pagliacci which is about the clown entertaining people and when you take the makeup off it’s a very, very different person underneath.’
‘I suppose that’s my goal. I wanted to be the same person on air and off air, that’s the journey I am on.’
Wynne added making the travel show had led to him ‘learning so much about myself and hopefully I’m going to be a much better person when this trip ends’.
The show was filmed weeks before Wynne’s fame levels soared with his spot on Strictly Come Dancing.
But during the show, the opera singer, 52, was accused of ‘groping’ his dance partner Katya Jones, 35, although the pair dismissed it as a joke that had been misunderstood.
Then, earlier this month, he was caught on film by The Mail on Sunday making a vile sexual comment about Strictly co-star Janette Manrara.
The BBC’s decision to air All At Sea amid the latest comment has sparked fierce backlash.
An insider told The Mirror as the show aired’ that the timing of this is deeply unfortunate…the comments were idiotic and have clearly overshadowed the first episode.’
His new BBC show All At Sea with Joanna Page sees the star speaking about his battle with anxiety. ‘I wanted to be the same person on air and off air, that’s the journey I am on’ he says
Viewers questioned why his show wasn’t postponed whilst others demanded Wynne to ‘get off the telly’ in a furious rant on X.
His co-star Joanna Page has failed to defend the disgraced singer in a social media post to promote the show.
Wynne’s co-host and friend Joanna barely referenced him in a new post promoting the series, which she referred to as ‘my show’ and only included him in one image – leading to speculation she has cut him out.
The Gavin and Stacey actress, 47, omitted the opera singer from a gallery of 15 images – bar one – taken while shooting the BBC show.
Joanna tagged each member of the crew in the post but excluded Wynne, who was only mentioned in reference to the title of the programme.
The actress received a wealth of support from her fans who congratulated her on the show and said they ‘loved’ the first episode after tuning in.
He admitted he has become adept at masking his true self explaining: ‘There’s an opera called Pagliacci which is about the clown entertaining people and when you take the makeup off it’s a very, very different person underneath’
In a BBC post which was reshared to Wynne’s own page promoting the show, the comments section does not reflect the same congratulatory nature.
Some took aim at the star for the new unfavourable comments and queried: ‘And how long until you’re rude or inappropriate about her?’
Wynne broke his silence on the claims with a statement on Tuesday, saying he had agreed with the BBC to ‘take some time out’ from his radio show and the Strictly live tour ‘to prioritise my wellbeing’.
It has now been reported that Wynne has also separated from his girlfriend, events manager Liz Brookes, 50, after she was left ‘humiliated’ by his latest scandal.
The pair had begun dating in the spring of last year following the break up of his 16 year marriage.
Despite his tumultuous time on Strictly, Liz supported Wynne throughout his time on the show and was often spotted cheering him on from the audience and sharing a sweet snap of them together, where she gushed she was ‘proud’ of him.
It has now been reported that Wynne has separated from his girlfriend, events manager Liz Brookes, 50, after she was left ‘humiliated’ by his latest scandal (pictured)
However, according to The Sun, she was ‘humiliated’ by his scandals on the show last year – notably his awkward ‘hand wandering’ moment with dance partner Katya Jones.
A TV insider has claimed that when the new broke about his latest X-rated remark, she was ‘relieved’ that they had split.
They told the publication: ‘Although she loyally stood by him in public, Liz was humiliated by what happened when he was on Strictly. She always knew he was a bit old school, and actually liked the fact he seemed rough round the edges. She just assumed it was all part of his charm.
Wynne broke his silence on the claims with a statement on Tuesday, saying he had agreed with the BBC to ‘ take some time out’ from his radio show and the Strictly live tour ‘to prioritise my wellbeing’ (pictured on tour with partner Katya Jones)
It came after his appearance on the tour was thrown into doubt, when he was caught on film by The Mail on Sunday making a vile sexual comment about It Takes Two presenter Janette Manrara during a photocall to launch the tour
‘It was very difficult for Liz, but she continued to back him throughout the rest of the contest, often being seen in the audience enthusiastically applauding him right up to him being knocked out in Blackpool week in November.
‘It’s not clear exactly when they split, but friends say that when his latest lewd gaffe was revealed at the Strictly Live Tour launch she was relieved they were no longer together.’
MailOnline contacted representatives for Wynne for comment.
During his Strictly stint, it was revealed that Wynne had found love again with Liz after the breakdown of his 16-year marriage left him contemplating suicide.
He’d previously admitted he hit ‘rock bottom’ in the midst of his depression, stemming from the end of his marriage to Welsh violinist Tanwen, the mother of his two children, in 2016.
They pair had first met on a British Youth Orchestra course, where Wynne was starring in a production of Robin Crusoe.
After the divorce he was forced to leave the family home he shared with their kids daughter Ismay, and son, Taliesin – moving into a ‘sad’ derelict house with boarded up windows in Cardiff as that was all he could afford at the time.
It has now been reported that Wynne has also separated from his girlfriend, events manager Liz Brookes, 50, who he began dating in the spring of last year following the break up of his 16 year marriage
However, according to The Sun, she was ‘humiliated’ by his scandals on the show last year – notably his awkward ‘hand wandering’ moment with dance partner Katya Jones (pictured with Katya during one of his last tour appearances at Glasgow Hydro on Sunday)
It comes after the Welsh star, famed for playing a portly Italian opera singer in a string of insurance ads for Go Compare, confirmed his departure from the Strictly live tour in a grovelling statement
Professional dancer Katya, who was partnered with Wynne on Strictly, reposted the message and wrote: ‘Let’s show humanity and consideration’
But he then began a relationship with fitness fanatic Liz last year – who is said to have helped him lose weight ahead of Strictly.
A source told The Sun during his Strictly stint: ‘Wynne and Liz met at an event and are taking things slow, but he’s excited about where the relationship might go.
‘He is in a much better place now than when his marriage ended. It’s like night and day — and he is so happy.’
Liz was often there to watch him perform on Strictly and shared a picture to her Instagram saying she was ‘so proud of this one tonight’ after one show.
While Wynne later revealed on a podcast that she was helping him keep up his exercise regime, saying: ‘I go out running with my girlfriend and stuff and I feel much better for it.’
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