Latest Strictly gossip about Wynne Evans

What it’s really like to work with Wynne Evans from someone who knows.

As Strictly Come Dancing kicks off for its 20th series I want to share with you all the gossip about one contestant who people will know from a well-known TV advert – but do you know the real person behind the “twirly” moustache?

The first time I hosted a big concert with Wynne Evans as the star turn I didn’t quite know what to expect. I knew him from the Go Compare adverts and I knew he was a fabulous singer but apart from that I knew little else. The second time we worked together I was ready and fully prepared for what was about to hit me. Our first encounter took place at Cheltenham Town Hall on a chilly December day in front of a capacity crowd of Gloucestershire Women’s Institute members. It was an afternoon concert followed by an evening gig with plenty of hanging around in between.

Usually my job at these sorts of events is to be the one to lighten the mood, crack a few gags, relax the audience and warm up the crowd for the big guest star. This is where working with Wynne Evans is a bit different. He isn’t just an opera singer, he’s also a brilliant comedian and storyteller. I soon realised that he is funnier than me, has better stories than me and all I had to do to earn my cheque was to keep it very simple and leave plenty of time for Wynne to charm the undergarments off the pride of Middle England assembled in Cheltenham Town Hall. He can deftly move from telling a near the knuckle gag to belting out Nessun dorma in the blink of an eye.

We spent a lot of time together back stage between shows and I met a man who is a grafter, hasn’t had life easy for lots of reasons, loves a challenge and, like me, shares a love of radio. After we’d met I made a point of listening to his morning show on BBC Radio Wales and it’s a great example of a personality presenter full of warmth and humour, totally in synch with his target audience. However, I also noticed someone who is a skilled operator with an instinctive nous for radio production. His technique shows that he knows how to design and pace two hours of entertaining radio where his listeners are the star. I highly recommend you give his show a listen – the BBC Sounds app will take you there.

I really hope he has a good run in Strictly, I know he’ll get the popular vote and as autumn draws on we all need a bit of Wynne on those dark, chilly, Saturday nights. You could say this is a Wynne Wynne situation.