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The chemistry between the couples on Strictly is a large part of why the show has become an enduring success – but sometimes things aren’t all as happy as they look on screen.
Former contestant Wynne Evans has claimed that one professional dancer did not like the celebrity they were paired with on the 2024 series.
While answering fan questions about the BBC dancing competition on TikTok, Evans was asked: “Were there any partnerships that didn’t get on well during your series, and if they didn’t then what would happen during breaks and behind the scenes and things? and how…”
He replied: “There was one couple in my year, if I’m honest, that didn’t like each other very much.”
The Welsh opera singer alleged that, “when they got knocked out”, he remembers that the pro “was not upset”.
He did not reveal which couple he was referring to. In a follow-up video, he said he did not want to identify anyone because contestants “will have fans and my life is weird enough as it is”.
Evans’s time on the show was thrown into chaos after he was spotted engaging in a “silly inside joke” with professional dancer Katya Jones, in which she could be seen awkwardly moving his hand from her waist during a live episode.
In another moment, Jones was seen avoiding a high-five offered by her celebrity partner – but after rumours of a behind-the-scenes feud, they told viewers it was part of “a running joke”.
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Evans’s troubles deepened when he was dropped by the BBC in May 2025 after apologising for using “inappropriate language” during the launch of the Strictly tour. He clarified that the word he used, while speaking to former EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick, was his nickname for Borthwick, but acknowledged it was “not an appropriate word for the workplace.”
The current series of Strictly Come Dancing – with new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe – kicked off its live shows on Saturday (26 September). Jones topped the leaderboard with her celebrity partner, social media star John Nellis.