BBC Strictly fans 'work out' true meaning of Wynne Evans and Katya Jones 'inside joke' as duo refuse explanation
BBC Strictly: Katya Jones and Wynne Evans' 'inside joke' 'rumbled' by eagle-eyed fans
BBC
Diehard Strictly Come Dancing fans are convinced they've rumbled exactly what the premise of Katya Jones and Wynne Evans' "inside joke" is following days of intense scrutiny.
The "inside joke" term has been used as an explanation by both Jones and Evans to explain a series of incidents that raised question marks over their behaviour during Saturday night's live show.
In one incident, Evans was spotted being rejected for a high-five by a seemingly disgruntled Jones, while a second moment that caught the eye centred on the opera singer moving his hand across the professional dancer's waist.
The duo took to social media soon after the show aired on Saturday night to apologise for the high-five incident, branding it an "inside joke".
And Jones used the excuse again when addressing the "hand incident" on Sunday evening. They both then reiterated the reasoning on Monday's episode of It Takes Two.
However, the explanation hasn't sat well with a number of fans at home who've demanded to know exactly what the "inside joke" is given the nature of the incidents following a tumultuous year for the BBC dance competition.
BBC Strictly: Katya Jones and Wynne Evans have both rubbished rumours of a feud
BBC
Neither Evans nor Jones has spoken publicly about what the "inside joke" is, although fellow star Kai Widdrington appeared to be in on the hijinks when he waded into the discussion earlier this week.
However, ahead of Week Five of the competition, armchair detectives think they've worked out the context - and one theory has to do with former pro dancer Giovanni Pernice.
In a Reddit thread about Jones and Evans' It Takes Two interview on Monday, one user praised the pair for their defiant stance in the face of public scrutiny.
In response, Redditor u/Character_Athlete877 put forward their theory of what the "inside joke" is, explaining: "I think Wynne and Katya were trying to copy how Rose [Ayling-Ellis] and Giovanni [Pernice] acted with each other.
BBC Strictly: Katya Jones and Wynne Evans appeared on Morning Live in September to laugh about their long-running high-five jokes
BBC
"They pretended they disliked each other. But it didn't quite work or come across well."
It was a theory that quickly gained traction with other members of the fandom, including u/Cosmo_Glass who concurred: "Yes, maybe. I remember those antics between Rose and Giovanni."
And a third user by the name of u/No-Assumption-1738 agreed: "I think that would make the situation way worse, but makes sense why they wouldn’t want to explain the ‘joke’."
Meanwhile, in separate threads, other fans suggested potential explanations for the "inside joke" excuse, with one pointing out: "After the first show, Wynne put his hands up for a high-five and Katya left him hanging as she was excited and distracted. They joked about it on Morning Live."
It turns out Saturday's high-five snub wasn't the first as in a behind-the-scenes clip shared on the show's Instagram page after their debut performance, Evans had to style out an offer of a high-five after being inadvertently rejected by Jones.
In the aforementioned episode of Morning Live, Jones and Evans did indeed address it, saying on September 23: "Watch this, watch this... unbelievable! She leaves me hanging there in mid-air."
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Neither Evans nor Jones have confirmed the context of the "inside joke" ahead of Week Five and both have insisted their attention is now entirely on their next dance.
Speaking on this week's It Takes Two, Jones hoped to put an end to the speculation and backlash aimed towards Evans as she told presenter Fleur East: "Can I please first get something out of the way that I feel like has overshadowed our performance for absolutely no reason?
"And quite frankly, I actually can't bear sitting here watching this man being portrayed as someone he's not. In fact, it couldn't be further away from the truth.
"So I have to make this absolutely clear that this whole incident with the hand and the high-five on Saturday night... It was an inside joke between Wynne and I. Was it a silly joke? Yes. Was it a bad joke? Yes...
"Even the idea that he made me feel uncomfortable or offended in any way is total nonsense. And those that have doubts, you guys have got it wrong. So hopefully this will be the end of it."
While the pair may be hoping to move on, Evans has been dealt a blow to his Strictly future according to bookmakers who've seen a drastic shift in his odds following the scandal.
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