Janette Manrara is said to have no negative feelings towards Wynne Evans (Picture: Anthony Devlin/Hogan Media/Shutt)
Wynne Evans made an offensive joke directed at Janette Manrara, but she is reportedly still supportive of him.
The opera singer has left the Strictly Come Dancing live tour after the comments in which he joked about a ‘spit-roast’ were made public, but his co-stars are said to be rallying around him.
The 53-year-old is also being kept an eye on by his close friends and BBC have put him in touch with a welfare officer, it is claimed.
‘Wynne is surrounded by people who are supporting him and the BBC have assigned him someone to talk to,’ a source told The Sun.
They continued: ‘Wynne’s Strictly co-stars have all rallied and are backing him all the way. They all love Wynne and have a lot of time for him.
‘Janette has nothing but affection for Wynne. They just want him to be alright.’
Evans has stepped back from his commitments (Picture: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)
‘Janette has nothing but affection for Wynne.’ (Picture: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)
Evans has been apologetic for the comment made during a photocall at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena to promote the tour, which It Takes Two presenter Manrara, 41, is hosting.
‘I am deeply sorry for the pain my inappropriate actions have caused, and plan to take this time for self-reflection,’ he wrote on Instagram.
As well as stepping away from the tour, Evans is also taking a break from his BBC Radio Wales show to priotise his wellbeing.
Janette is hosting the Strictly tour and Evans was both singing and dancing in the shows before his departure (Picture: Instagram/Katya Jones)
Evans continued: ‘Apologies to those I won’t get to see at the remaining performances and I’m grateful to my fellow tour gang for all the amazing support they have given me.’
Daily Mail reported that he gave a ‘grovelling apology’ to both Manrara and her husband, Aljaž Škorjanec, who is dancing on the tour.
A spokesman for BBC Studios and the Strictly Live Tour producers told Metro: ‘We were not previously aware of the remark and did not receive any complaints.
‘We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour.’
In the 2024 series of Strictly Jones and Evans were partnered together (Picture: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)
Evans was performing with Katya Jones who was also his partner on the 2024 series of the BBC show. She has publicly shown her support for Evans in the midst of the fallout.
Reposting his original message, she asked fans to ‘show humanity and consideration.’
The 35-year-old professional dancer added: ‘I will miss you my darling boy.’
Jones then shared a video from a previous performance which showed opera singer Evans doing his version of Shirley Bassey’s This is my Life and wrote: ‘Really missed this tonight.’
Last night, she also posted a mirror selfie in her dressing room, which clearly showed a picture of Evans stuck to the wall.
The tour will continue without Evans until the final Strictly Come Dancing Live taking place at London’s 02 arena on February 9.
A picture of Evans has been stuck up in Jones’ dressing room (Picture: Instagram/Katya Jones)
In October, another joke by Evans led to criticism. On a live episode of Strictly, in front of around six million fans, Evans placed his hand on Jones’ waist and kept reaching it further around her midriff until she removed it with a smile on her face.
After the incident, Evans and Jones repeatedly denied that he engaged in any sort of ‘inappropriate’ behaviour or upset her at all. They also apologised for any offence it may have caused, but insisted it was an ‘inside joke’.
His girlfriend Liz Brookes publicly supported him, posting a picture of them on the Strictly dance floor and writing: ‘What a superstar!’ However, it’s claimed that the couple have now split and events manager Brookes feels ‘humiliated’.
Lorraine Kelly has recently condemned the incident, calling Evans ‘a nutter’.
Metro has contacted BBC, Manrara’s representatives and Evans’ representatives for comment.
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