Wynne Evans, the Welsh singer weaving his opera talents into Strictly after controversy

From GoCompare to Cha-cha-cha...

Wynne Evans, along with his professional partner Katya Jones, is one of the remaining contestants on this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

Speaking to the BBC, Evans said: “I am honestly still pinching myself, a portly balding opera singer, me, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing?! I’m not entirely sure how I’ll get along, if all else fails I’ll just have to learn the art of distraction. What I do know is I will give it my all and aim to make Wales proud. I’m definitely going to try and combine my love of Opera into one of my routines.”

The Welsh opera singer has impressed the judges thus far, with his highest score coming in at 34. Evans has also managed to weave in his vocal talents into a routine, belting out a Shirley Bassey tune during Icons Week.

Despite his success on the show, Evans’s stint on Strictly has been overshadowed by controversy. On week five of the dance competition, viewers spotted an awkward interaction between Evans and Jones.

In a clip, Evans could be seen awkwardly placing his hand slowly across his professional partner’s stomach, in which Jones removed it and placed it on her hip instead. The video quickly went viral on social media.

“I’m absolutely heartbroken by the things that have been written about me in the last day,” he told BBC Radio Wales on 14 October.

“It’s not nice to live in that time, but basically Katya and I are really, really close and we’re really good friends, and on Saturday night we made a stupid joke.”

He explained, “It was a stupid joke that went wrong, okay, we thought it was funny. It wasn’t funny. It has been totally misinterpreted.”

Jones herself shared an additional statement, in which she said: “Happy Sunday, everyone. Now I need to make something crystal clear.

“The hand incident that happened on Saturday night was a very silly inside joke between Wynne and I, so even the idea that it made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in any way is complete nonsense.

“It’s quite absurd, actually. Can we focus on how brilliantly he’s doing and what an amazing dancer he’s become?’”

Wynne Evans and Katya Jones on Strictly (BBC)

The 52-year-old Welsh opera star will be better known to many as Gio Compario, the annoying Italian tenor from the GoCompare adverts on UK television, which he started making way back in 2009.

The adverts, which became so famous that they even managed to recruit Stephen Hawking to appear in a cameo, gave Evans' talents a chance to be beamed to millions of homes across the country, something that he is hoping to do again on Strictly.

Evans does have some pedigree on celebrity talent shows. He won the 2023 edition of Celebrity MasterChef, beating actor Amy Walsh and reality star Luca Bish in an intense final.

Evans joked that “after winning Celebrity MasterChef last year, maybe the route to the judges’ hearts will be through their stomachs!”

The Carmarthen-born singer has enjoyed a 25-year career in opera, resulting in two No 1 classical music albums and more than 200 performances at the Royal Albert Hall. This includes being cast as Ubaldo Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, a 25th anniversary celebration of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic in 2011.

Evans’ other esteemed operatic roles in productions by the Welsh National Opera include Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Cassio in Otello, The Duke in Rigoletto, Rodolfo in La bohème, The Chevalier in Les Dialogues des Carmelites and the First Jew in Salome to name but a few.

Aside from Gio Compario, perhaps his most unusual role was as the mayor of Mexia, Texas in the opera Anna Nicole, a story about the model, actor and former Playboy centrefold Anna Nicole Smith which premiered in 2011 at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House and was even broadcast on BBC Four.

Evans has also built a successful career for himself as a radio presenter and currently hosts The Wynne Evans Show on BBC Radio Wales every weekday as well as previously presenting shows on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.

Despite, his success in the world of opera, Evans admits that he has struggled with his weight, which has impacted his mental health.

Wynne before and after his recent weight loss (Collect/PA Real Life)

Speaking during Mental Health Awareness Week, Evans said that he began having “very dark thoughts” in 2016 but a combination of medication, professional help and regular exercise has resulted in him losing seven stone.

“My anxiety and my mental health is my superpower," Evans says. “Thanks to anxiety I know exactly what to do when things go wrong because I've already thought about it a thousand times. So I think it's a strength and when you see it in other people you're able to help them as well. I love that.“