In Episode 1 of Manopause with Brendan Cole and James Jordan, Wynne Evans reveals why he believes one joke cost him his place on the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour, his radio show, his reputation and very nearly his life.
The Welsh opera singer, broadcaster and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant gives his account of the controversies that changed his life and career.
Wynne describes making an off-camera joke after a Strictly tour press call using the phrase “spit roast boy”. He says the remark referred to a nickname and a colleague’s pose, but claims it was stripped of its original context and reported as a sexual comment about another member of the cast.
He explains how he received an email warning that a newspaper was preparing to publish the story, why he was advised to apologise and how he later discovered through the Daily Express that he had been removed from the tour. Wynne says the BBC subsequently informed him that he was also leaving his radio show.
Wynne also discusses the earlier Katya Jones incident, a private birthday prank involving a sex toy and the intense scrutiny he experienced throughout Strictly and the live tour.
With a broken ankle and already living with depression, Wynne describes being left alone in a hotel and being told that he could not attend his own birthday celebration while the rest of the tour went ahead without him.
He speaks openly about the devastating effect the media coverage and loss of his career had on his mental health, receiving crisis care, psychiatric and ketamine treatment, and surviving repeated suicide attempts.
James Jordan and Brendan Cole also share their experiences of Strictly Come Dancing, the pressures of leaving one of Britain’s biggest television programmes, cancel culture, career uncertainty and the challenge of reinventing yourself in middle age.
Brendan speaks publicly about being born with hypospadias and the numerous operations he underwent as a child. He explains the physical and emotional impact the condition had on him throughout childhood and into adult life.
There are lighter moments too, including James and Brendan visiting students at Canterbury Academy, behind-the-scenes Strictly stories, arguments about school holiday prices, modern chivalry and the first Manopause Moan of the Week.
Manopause with Brendan Cole and James Jordan is an honest, funny and sometimes difficult conversation about men’s mental health, midlife crisis, relationships, work, health and the pressures men often keep to themselves.
CONTENT WARNING
This episode contains frank discussion of depression, suicide attempts and childhood genital surgery.
If you are struggling or need somebody to talk to, Samaritans are available free at any time on 116 123:
https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
For information and support about hypospadias, visit the Hypospadias UK Charitable Trust:
https://www.hypospadiasuk.co.uk/
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