Strictly star slams 'double standards' at BBC after Naga Munchetty 'sex jibe'
Welsh opera singer, Wynne Evans, 53, was sensationally dumped from the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour earlier this year over inappropriate comments he made.
The 'unacceptable' joke – which was first believed to be towards host Janette Manrara but Wynne has since insisted it was a jibe at Jamie Borthwick – apparently referenced having a threesome.
Soon after, he apologised, saying he was 'deeply sorry for the pain my inappropriate action caused' and would take a break from the public eye for 'self-reflection' and to 'prioritise my well-being'.
Now, however, following the news that BBC Breakfast star Naga is facing bullying allegations and inappropriate 'sex jibe' claims, Wynne has called out the director general, Tim Davie.
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
Posting the front page of The Sun in a now-deleted post, Wynne said: 'I really wish Naga well and I hope she doesn't get hounded.
'But come on @bbc @bbccymruwales what double standards.
'Tim Davie [Director-general of the BBC] promised to protect people on Strictly from being hounded by the press, but he won't even meet with me.'
Presenter Naga, 50, hosts the BBC flagship morning programme alongside Charlie Stayt.
It was reported earlier this year that an internal investigation was being carried out into allegations of bullying at the program.
Since, it has emerged that the editor of BBC Breakfast, Richard Frediani, is taking an extended period of leave after allegations of bullying behaviour, including a claim he shook a female colleague.
Deadline reported that Naga had raised concerns with senior BBC figures regarding his conduct, amid other misconduct complaints colleagues made against him.
The Sun then reported claims that Naga faced her own bullying allegations. No formal action has been taken, but she is said to have been spoken to about an incident.
Wynne previously spoke to The Sun about the fallout, saying he is 'not a bad guy'.
He also stated that he is 'not a misogynist', explaining that 'spit-roast boy' was a nickname given to EastEnders actor Jamie, insisting that the quip was a prank that 'backfired'.
'It's been heartbreaking,' he said of the aftermath. ''Spit-roast boy' was a nickname we all gave Jamie Borthwick because he could contort his legs over his head like a spit-roast chicken.
'I would be the first to apologise if I had used it in the double meaning of that word.
'But it absolutely wasn't meant sexually – and the fact I used 'boy,' alright, it's nuanced, but it shows I was talking to Jamie, NOT Janette.'
Earlier this month, Wynne shared a full apology video from Strictly Come Dancing, which he claims the BBC ordered him to cut short.
The singer and his professional dance partner sparked controversy when she appeared to move his hand from her waist, which he said was 'just a body language experiment that was picked up on'.
The pair shared a brief apology video at the time, but he has now shared a different version, which is 50 seconds long instead of the 10-second clip that got published.
His video begins with Katya saying: 'Hello everyone. We felt the need to clarify something. We find it quite fascinating how people take time to look into in such detail every gesture, every look.'
Wynne added: 'So we thought we'll mess around. And we said, 'Oh I'll put my hand on your waist, you pretend to move it away, and let's see who notices it.'
'And now everybody thinks I'm a weirdo. But really, I promise you I'm not. And we're doing this high ten thing as well, where she blanks me from a high ten.'
The pair insisted it was 'all sort of planned just to see if anybody notices', while Katya said they wanted to 'clarify that it's all just messing around'. More Trending
'He's not a creep,' she added. 'But he's a brilliant dancer.'
When he was removed from the bill, having already done several performances, a spokesperson from the BBC said: 'We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour.
'We were not previously aware of the remark and did not receive any complaints.'
View More »
Metro has contacted the BBC for comment.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Legendary BBC series hailed as 'guilty pleasure' streaming on completely free UK service
MORE: 'I beat the system and proved I didn't need a TV licence'
MORE: More schedule changes confirmed as EastEnders is pulled from BBC One
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Gladiators thrown into chaos as four stars injured while filming new series
Filming for the new series of Gladiators has been thrown into chaos after a number of its stars got injured during filming for the new series, as the programme prepares to return to our screens Filming for the new series of Gladiators has been thrown into chaos after a handful of stars were injured on the set. The latest batch of episodes for the BBC programme, which was revived in 2024 with father-and-son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh at the helm, is currently in production but things have not gone entirely to plan. Legend, Bionic, Diamond and Athena are the four stars of the series that have been landed with injuries. Legend, whose real name is Matt Morsia, tore a bicep, whilst Matty Campbell, who is better known to fans as Bionic, has dislocated his shoulder. Livi Sheldon, whose Gladiators alter-ego is Diamond, ruptured the ACL and MCL in her knee. As well as all that, Athena, whose real name is Karenjeet Kaur Bains, smashed her knee. Speaking about the incidents, a source told The Sun: "Gladiators is the ultimate test of speed, strength and endurance - and four of its champions have paid the price. It just goes to show that these games are tough and even our professionals can suffer injuries!" It comes as ITV axes Noel Edmonds' big TV comeback after just one series. READ MORE: Final Strictly Come Dancing star announced as fans fume over 'underwhelming' line-up According to the outlet, all of the injuries were sustained at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield whilst cameras were rolling for the next series of the programme. But despite the individual ordeals, it has been claimed that all the stars will feature when the show goes to air later this year, and they will also all be taking part in the live tour when that hits the road this autumn. But this is not the first time that the stars have suffered such injuries, as fans will remember that Comet, real name Ella-Mae Rayner, broke her ankle and had to undergo an operation to rebuild her foot. What's more, Sheli McCoy, better known as Sabre, tore her hamstring during production, and at the time noted to Metro that the 'competitive' nature of her job meant that nothing on set 'came without risk.' However, a spokesperson for the BBC previously insised that health and safety is taken seriously on the set as they said: "The health and well-being of all Gladiators, contenders and crew is of paramount importance. Gladiators is one of the toughest and most physically demanding programmes on TV and due to the high-impact nature of the show it is not unusual for those competing to suffer injuries. "In each instance, as soon as it became apparent that a potential injury had occurred, the correct protocol was immediately followed. "The injured Gladiators are currently following medical advice and working on their recoveries.' This is the second time Gladiators has been revived on television since starting life in the 1990s, and, Athena, Bionic, Comet, Cyclone, Diamond, Dynamite, Electro, Fire, Fury, Giant, Hammer, Legend, Nitro, Phantom, Sabre, Steel, and Viper will be back on screen in 2026. The BBC's version of the hit became the most watched Saturday night series on BBC iPlayer and the third most watched Entertainment series overall. The show averaged 5.3m viewers, with nearly two fifths streaming on demand. The revival of the show has also capture younger viewers with 1.3 million tuning in for each episode, accounting for nearly a quarter of the show's overall audience. Speaking on the news, Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: 'Audiences have loved getting together to watch our mighty Gladiators take on contenders from all across the UK with younger fans especially excited to cheer on their Saturday night superheroes. "With this brand-new series and another Celebrity Special confirmed there will be even more epic battles, more high-octane action and of course even more foam fingers than ever before for everyone to look forward to!" Before the next series hits screens, fans will be able to catch Nitro competing in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, and he will be putting his footwork to the test for judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. Also known as Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, he appeared in last year's Christmas edition of the programme. Upon his casting for the main competition, he said: "After the Christmas Special, it was so nice I just had to do it twice! I'm so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I'm ready to give it all I've got. I'll be bringing tons of energy to light up the dance floor. Let's hope I'm as quick picking up the routines as I am on the track!"
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gladiators in chaos as FOUR stars are injured during filming for new BBC series
Gladiators is in chaos after four of the athletes were are injured during filming for the new series. Professionals, Legend, Diamond, Bionic and Athena, have all suffered injuries during the competition, which is set to be aired in January 2026. Filming began last month at Utilita Arena in Sheffield with Bradley Walsh and his son Barney returning to host. Diamond (Livi Sheldon) has suffered a knee injury, rupturing her ACL and MCL during filming. Legend (Matt Morsia) has tore a bicep, while Bionic (Matty Campbell) dislocated his shoulder and Athena (Karenjeet Kaur Bains) also injured her knee. A source told The Sun: 'Gladiators is the ultimate test of speed, strength and endurance - and four of its champions have paid the price.' They added: 'It just goes to show that these games are tough and even our professionals can suffer injuries.' Meanwhile the upcoming series of Celebrity Gladiators will come out just before the civilian one. A new batch of super fit celebrities are set to take on the Gladiators in a battle of strength and skill. The reboot of Gladiators was a smash hit when it aired last year, and a celebrity spin-off was quickly commissioned, featuring comedians and gym lovers. But this year the casting team have stepped it up and found four stars who can definitely give the Gladiators a run for their money. The Sun reported last month that model Vogue Williams will be joined on the show by fitness guru Joe Wicks, former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, and gym-obsessed I'm A Celeb winner Sam Thompson. Vogue won the first series of Bear Grylls: Mission Survive and regularly shares fitness tips and workout videos with her Instagram followers. Meanwhile Joe dominated British TV screens during Covid thanks to his at-home workout clips, and reality star Sam often shares his gym progress. Former Olympian Nicola could however prove the one to beat, after retiring undefeated in 2019 and becoming the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion after winning gold at London 2012. A source told the publication: 'Last year, producers of the debut celebrity version played it for laughs with three comedians taking part — with hilarious results for viewers. 'But this year they've assembled four celebrities who can give the Gladiators a serious run for their money, and serve up a clash to savour. The first series of Celebrity Gladiators saw Joel Dommett and Ellie Taylor crowned the winners after a tense finale.
The Sun
12 minutes ago
- The Sun
Molly-Mae missing from Tommy Fury's BBC premiere after he admitted being ‘too drunk' to remember their split
MOLLY-MAE Hague did not attend the premiere of Tommy Fury's new documentary this evening. The boxer, 26, was joined by his parents in Manchester for a screening of BBC show The Good. The Bad. The Fury, which sees him rehash details of their recent split, as well as make a series of shock revelations about it. 6 6 6 Tommy looked in good spirits as he posed on the red carpet with his family and a number of reality stars - including Love Island's Kaz Crossley. Despite their recent reconciliation and loved-up displays, Molly - the mother of his daughter Bambi - swerved the bash. It comes after he made the shock revelation that he was downing "20 shots a night" and drinking to get "blackout drunk" ahead of their split last year. The news of their split in August 2024, just more than a year after their engagement, sparked shock and speculation he had been unfaithful. Tommy, the half-brother of boxer Tyson, denies the rumours in his new doc, saying he started drinking heavily after injuring his hand. He said: "The reason for our ending the relationship was alcohol." He added: "I couldn't train, box, lift weights, that was all gone. "My right hand was messed up, I was in dire pain, it's just what happens over years of impact on the hand. "I had lost my entire identity, lost my life." In the first episode of the show, Tommy''s father John says he urged Molly to leave his son, saying: "I knew from dealing with Tyson, when the drinking started to come into play I thought 'Not again'. Watch awkward moment Tommy Fury is quizzed over his engagement to Molly Mae after booze battle and cheat claims "I did say to Molly, because she came to me, what you're best off doing with him, Molly, is walking away, because if he's not going to change himself, he doesn't think that much of you." Revealing how much he was drinking at the time, Tommy said: "I hold my hands up, drink got hold of me - 20 shots a night, 20 beers. "Every day I would have a drink and I would drink to get blackout drunk, and that is what led to me not being the right partner to Molly." He admitted he was drunk when she eventually walked out, taking their daughter with her. 6 6 He said: "I've never even said this before, but when they'd actually left the house, I was actually drunk at that point, so I don't actually remember it that well, which was even more upsetting. "I woke up. I was like shit, and I was listening to probably the silence of the house for like an hour. I was like, f***. And that was the last time they've been here. "I'm not going to lie and say I knew the feeling of what it was like when they walked out - I didn't because I was intoxicated." The couple have since rekindled their relationship, with Molly saying she believes their relationship is "worth saving". Part one of Tommy: The Good, The Bad, The Fury is available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, with part two scheduled for later in the year.
