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Strictly Come Dancing’s Wynne Evans hits back at claims he made a sexual slur against his co-star Janette Manrara, which happened when Wynne was standing in the middle of a line-up of the entire cast in Birmingham

Wynne Evans has opened up about ‘what he really said’ to Strictly Come Dancing‘s Janette Manrara after he was ‘forced’ to apoplgise for the sexual slur – which he now claims was the farthest thing from what he actually meant it to be. The opera singer, 53, best known for his Go Compare adverts, was caught on camera in January making a vile “spit roast” remark towards a co-star.

The footage, which was released in January, shows Wynne standing in the middle of a line-up of the entire cast in Birmingham as Janette, who is the host of the BBC spin-off show It Takes Two, is asked to join them.

Wynne was recorded making an inappropriate sexual comment to Janette Manrara, who acts as host on the tour, when she walked over to the group. He sang out: “Go Compare,” before adding: “Not too close to Jamie [Borthwick].” He then used the hugely demeaning term “spit roast” in reference to a lewd sexual act.

At the time, Evans said in a statement to the Mirror: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable, for which I sincerely apologise.” He was seen with the tour cast as they turned up to Liverpool after having to pull out of the Glasgow shows due to an injury. However, he later pulled from the tour entirely.

However, Wynne has denied making the comments caught on camera. After issuing an apology at the time, the opera singer has now revealed what he actually meant by saying the words ‘spit-roast’, claiming it was a nickname for his fellow Strictly star and EastEnders actor, Jamie. Wynne told The Sun in a new interview: “I didn’t see the statement. Old Spit-roast Boy was a nickname for Jamie Borthwick. I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a misogynist, I’m not any of these things.”

Wynne now insists his mistakes on the show were simply light-hearted pranks which completely backfired on him, leading to his career taking a massive plunge. The Strictly star has also revealed that he suffered a dreadful mental health collapse after his axe from the show, admitting that he was on even 24/7 suicide watch by an NHS crisis team.

“I would be the first to apologise if I had used it in the double meaning of that word,” Wynne told the publication. But it absolutely wasn’t meant sexually – and the fact I used ‘boy’, all right it’s nuanced, but it shows I was talking to Jamie, NOT Janette.

“Anyway two weeks after that photocall, I was sat in this hotel room and I start to get these calls saying, ‘You have used a term that is really offensive’. And then I’ve got my team ­ringing me, I’ve got the Strictly team ringing me, I’ve got the tour team ringing me.”

Wynne went on to claim that he didn’t see the press statement that was published on his behalf, and was left blindsided by it. “Of course, your natural reaction is, if you’re told you’ve offended someone, you say, ‘God, I’m so sorry’. And so I went, ‘I’m so sorry’. And that was taken as a formal apology, so the press team issued a statement. I didn’t see it,” he said.

“When I read the apology within the context of the story as it had been written, I was absolutely horrified. And I was embarrassed and I was ashamed of myself. Because the apology always makes it look worse.

“It validates the story. It’s been a truly awful past few months, having to keep my counsel and let the narrative that I’m some sort of weirdo run. I’m not a misogynist, I’m not any of these things.” The statement which was released on his behalf at the time read: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable for which I sincerely apologise.”

The broadcaster has launched an investigation into his behaviour and the conclusion is believed to be revealed in a couple of weeks. A BBC spokesperson also previously confirmed they had spoken to Wynne and stated they “do not tolerate such behaviour.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the live tour said: “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.”

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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has raised concerns about the worsening security and humanitarian conditions in Lubero territory in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

A recent report from UNOCHA reveals that armed individuals perpetrated at least 32 instances of rape in the village of Vuhato, located in the Kayna health zone. The report from recent months indicates that on April 9 and 10, violent confrontations erupted in the areas of Kanune, Luhanga, and Mbwavinywa. These clashes resulted in the deaths of two civilians and prompted more than 4,000 individuals to evacuate from the villages of Bunyatenge and Musika.

Since December 2024, more than 16,000 people from 2,307 households have been newly displaced in Vuyinga’s health zone of Musienene. The UN agency reveals that most of these displaced people are being taken care of by already vulnerable families, living under precarious conditions with limited access to food, potable water, shelter, and protection.

The risk posed by stray war explosives is highly significant. Since the beginning of this year, there have been at least four incidents involving explosive devices that have resulted in the deaths of ten civilians, particularly in the farming regions of Kayna and Lubero. This situation has made it perilous for farmers to access their fields.

Since April 26, 2025, clashes between rival factions of an armed group have instilled panic in Vuhira, a Beni territory.

Joint military operations between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are ongoing. However, the security situation remains precarious, especially in Oicha, where civilians are subjected to illegal taxation.

Despite relative calm in the Lubero territory, UNOCHA is concerned about the strengthening of armed groups in the Kitsombiro and Kamandi regions, which have become new hotbeds of violence. In Kamandi Gite, clashes have led to further displacements, with people moving towards Lunyasenge and Kiribata.

Faced with the degradation of the humanitarian situation in Lubero territory, UNOCHA calls for an urgent humanitarian and coordinated response to protect civilians and respond to their fundamental needs. The agency insists on securing humanitarian access and supporting local populations affected by these conflicts.

May 16 (UPI) — The Papua New Guinea National Department of Health announced early Friday that a polio outbreak has struck there.

The nation’s government said it is “stepping up its response after the poliovirus was detected in wastewater samples and in two healthy children in Lae, Morobe Province.”

The World Health Organization has reported that less than 50% of the country’s population have been immunized against the disease, which is caused virally via contact with an infected person’s feces or droplets that come with sneezes and coughs. Polio mostly affects kids under five years old and cannot be cured.

The two children who tested positive in Lae are said to be symptom-free, which is commonly the case. Some may develop flu-like symptoms, but the virus can also occasionally cause paralysis and become life-threatening if breathing muscles are impacted.

The BBC reports that Papua New Guinea’s WHO representative Sevil Huseynova said “We have to do something about it and we have to do it immediately,” and that “We have to make maximum effort to get 100% [vaccination] coverage.”

In a post to Facebook Friday, the Papua New Guinea government said its Health Minister Elias Kapavore has called the situation “serious but manageable,” and “We’ve dealt with this before and know what works.”

He also added that “Vaccination is safe and effective, and we’re acting quickly to keep children protected.”

The Papua New Guinea government also announced Friday that as of Wednesday its “planned response includes at least two rounds of nationwide vaccination. These vaccines are free, safe, and widely used around the world, and the health system is working to ensure they are available to all children under five, no matter where they live.”

The country also declared it will take “immediate steps include expanding disease monitoring to detect any further cases swiftly and effectively. Testing is being increased, and surveillance efforts are being strengthened across the country to monitor for any additional signs of the virus.”

Polio has broken out before in Papua New Guinea, with the most recent incident happening in June of 2018, after a reported 20 years of the nation being considered polio-free.

European leaders speak to US president after Russia-Ukraine talks fail to achieve major breakthrough.

European leaders have agreed to step up joint action against Russia over its failure to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine at a meeting on Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, following talks with United States President Donald Trump.

As the Russia-Ukraine talks concluded in Istanbul on Friday, Starmer and fellow leaders from France, Germany and Poland – together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – called the US president from a summit in Albania to discuss “developments” in the negotiations, Starmer said.

The talks in Istanbul were the first direct talks between officials from the rwo sides for more than three years. They lasted less than two hours, and the sides agreed to the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war in 2022, but failed to make a major breakthrough on a ceasefire.

“We just had a meeting with President Zelenskyy and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today,” Starmer said from Albania’s capital, Tirana, where leaders of dozens of European countries were gathered for the European Political Community summit.

“And the Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time.

“So as a result of that meeting with President Zelenskyy and that call with President Trump, we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so.”

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that if Putin continued to reject a ceasefire, “we will need to have a response and therefore escalate sanctions”, which, he said, were being “reworked” by European nations and the US.

EU eyes Russia’s shadow fleet

Macron said it was too early to provide details on the “reworked” sanctions, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to “increase the pressure”.

She said on Friday that the measures would target the shadow fleet of ageing cargo vessels that Russia is using to bypass international sanctions and the Nord Stream pipeline consortium. Russia’s financial sector would also be targeted.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had said that Ukraine was committed to ending the war, but urged the European leaders to ramp up sanctions “against Russia’s energy sector and banks” if Putin continued to drag his feet in talks.

“I think Putin made a mistake by sending a low-level delegation,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said as he arrived at the Tirana summit. “The ball is clearly in his part of the field now, in his court. He has to play ball. He has to be serious about wanting peace.”

Four months after the San Bernardino mass shooting, state lawmakers on Tuesday gave initial approval to five gun control bills, including measures that would outlaw assault rifles with detachable magazines, ban possession of clips holding more than 10 rounds and require homemade guns to be registered with the state.

The bills approved by the state Senate Public Safety Committee were introduced in response to the December shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead and 22 others wounded at the hands of two terrorists.

One of the measures the panel sent toward the Senate floor would outlaw assault rifles with easily detachable bullet magazines like one of the weapons used in the mass shooting in San Bernardino.

The bill prohibits the sale of semiautomatic, centerfire rifles with a “bullet button,” a recessed button that, when pressed, allows removal of the magazine. Those who already own them must register them with the state as assault rifles.

Democratic state Sens. Isadore Hall of Compton and Steve Glazer of Orinda introduced the measure, SB 880, in response to the discovery of a gun with a bullet button that was in the possession of the San Bernardino terrorists.

“These weapons of war don’t belong in our communities,” Glazer told the Senate panel before it approved the measure he coauthored with Hall.

Hall said there is an urgent need to close a loophole in the law that bans assault weapons.

“For years, gun owners have been able to circumvent California’s assault weapons law by using a small tool to quickly eject and reload an ammunition magazine,” Hall said.

The measure is opposed by gun owner rights groups including the National Rifle Assn., according to its lobbyist, Ed Worley.

“We continue to oppose banning guns for citizens who have no criminal background,” Worley told the panel. “People should be able to own any kind of gun they want to own in the United States of America.”

The Senate panel also approved a bill by Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) that would ban the possession of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, closing a loophole in a law that already prohibits their manufacture and sale in California.

Hancock noted that four large-capacity magazines were found among the weapons of the two shooters in San Bernardino. Since 1980, 435 people have been killed in 50 mass shootings involving large-capacity magazines, some of which can hold 100 rounds of ammunition, she said.

The magazines have already been banned in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“By banning these weapons statewide we would be taking a step to preventing future mass shootings and creating safer communities in California,” Hancock told the Senate panel.

Republican Sen. Jeff Stone voted against the bill.

“Today we want to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens who have been collecting guns,” Stone said.

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FOR THE RECORD

April 20, 11:35 a.m.: An earlier version of this story mistakenly attributed a quote to Sen. John Moorlach. The statement was from Sen. Jeff Stone.

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The measure was also opposed by others including Worley and Sam Paredes, the executive director of Gun Owners of California, who said millions of large-capacity clips are already in the hands of Californians.

“Here we are trying to confiscate people’s property,” Worley told the panel.

Paredes said many law enforcement officers are given large-capacity magazines.

“That is what they may need to protect themselves,” Paredes said. “Why should it be any different for a law-abiding citizen?”

The Senate committee also approved a bill that would allow the state to collect information on those who buy ammunition for firearms. An earlier law that would have required bullet purchasers to provide identification and a thumbprint was struck down by a court in 2010 on the grounds that its definition of handgun ammunition was vague.

That case is on appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The new bill by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles), SB 1235, would clarify that the previous law applies to all ammunition, including bullets for long guns and handguns as well as shotgun shells, which he hopes will address the lower court’s concerns.

The panel also approved a bill requiring those who build guns at home to register them with the state, get a serial number and undergo a criminal background check.

“These firearms are called ‘ghost guns’ because they are built at home … with no serial numbers or background checks involved,” De León told the panel before it approved the bill on a 5-3 party-line vote. “These are weapons that have the ability to kill or maim a human being.”

Hundreds of ghost guns have been seized in California, and they have been used in major crimes, including a mass shooting in 2013. The measure is backed by the California Police Chiefs Assn.

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“Gun-smithing has become easier than putting together Ikea furniture because of the 3-D printer,” said Chief Jennifer G. Tejada of the Emeryville Police Department. “This bill will decrease the number of untraceable firearms in California.”

The measure is opposed by groups including the NRA and Gun Owners of California.

“We’re going to take hobbyists who enjoy making guns and we’re going to make them criminals,” Worley said.

The panel also approved measures that would require firearms owners to report lost or stolen guns to authorities within five days and another to create a gun violence prevention research center at a University of California system campus.

Meanwhile, a bill that would have required all gun sales to be videotaped failed to pass an Assembly committee on Tuesday.

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