I’M NOT PERFECT
Cha-cha cheat’s weasel apology
THEIR guilty discomfort was in stark contrast to the assurance with which they had performed the paso doble four days earlier.
Seann Walsh and Katya Jones expressed regret as they faced the music last night in their first TV appearance since they were pictured kissing in the street.
Walsh insisted he is ‘ not the person I am being portrayed as’ following the revelation he had cheated on his girlfriend with his Strictly Come Dancing partner.
The comedian, 32, looked uncomfortable as he sat next to Mrs Jones to tell BBC2 viewers: ‘I’m not perfect.’
Mrs Jones, 29, who cheated on her husband and fellow Strictly professional Neil by kissing Walsh after they had been drinking in a London pub last week, also apologised on Strictly’s spin- off show It Takes Two.
Walsh was publicly dumped on Monday by actress Rebecca Humphries, his girlfriend of five years. She issued a statement saying that he had aggressively called her ‘psycho/nuts/mental’ when she asked if something was going on with Mrs Jones.
When asked by presenter Zoe Ball about Miss Humphries’ statement, Walsh said: ‘I think first of all I would rather not be having to address this publicly, but I feel like I have to. I made a mistake, which I’m very sorry for – sorry for the hurt that I’ve caused.
‘You never think about the extent of the damage that you’re going to do, in a moment of, you know the mistake that you’ve made.’
In what appeared to be a thinly veiled swipe at his ex-girlfriend, who had cheered him on at the live show last Saturday, hours before pictures of the kiss became public, he added: ‘I’m not perfect, far from it. Our relationship wasn’t perfect. That doesn’t mean I wanted it to end the way it finally did, and I’m very sorry for that.’
Walsh, dressed in a black suit, said: ‘I feel it’s also important for me to say that the people that know me the most, that love me, they know that I am not the person I’m being portrayed as.
‘I’m still sorry for what I did, but it’s very important for me to get that out there.’
The comedian, who is the bookies’ favourite to get voted off the BBC1 show this weekend, also expressed his remorse over the kiss with Mrs Jones.
‘We were getting on well, we were having fun,’ he said. ‘We had a couple of drinks and made a huge mistake and I regret it deeply.’
Mrs Jones said: ‘I can’t apologise enough to everyone who it hurt and involved.
‘But, the main thing, me and Neil are absolutely fine and that’s what matters to me the most right now and focusing on my job and doing it as professionally I can.’
She looked sombre as she insisted she was ‘still looking forward to Saturday and doing the Charleston as best as we can really’. The pair were pictured yesterday rehearsing their dance.
Mr Jones was also pictured yesterday – for the first time since photos of his wife kissing Walsh were published. Wearing a leather jacket and a yellow hat, the 35year-old looked stony-faced as he took their dog Crumble for a walk.
Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas insisted that the illicit romance between Walsh and Mrs Jones will not affect their scores on Saturday night. Miss Ballas, 58, said the comedian will be marked solely for his dance moves.
Asked on ITV’s This Morning yesterday about her reaction to pictures of the pair kissing, Miss Ballas said: ‘I’m not a newspaper
‘I didn’t want to end it that way’
reader, so I’m probably always the last to know any information that’s going on, but I just think people get on with their job.
‘I’m there to judge a competition which is about dancing, I’m not there to judge anybody’s private life. I’m there as an adjudicator to judge the dancing only.’
Earlier, former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips said she supported the decision to keep Walsh and Mrs Jones on the show.
Miss Phillips, 75, told ITV’s Lorraine: ‘I absolutely think they should be allowed to dance. They are consenting adults. I’m not condoning what they did at all but it’s a dance competition.’
The judges shouldn’t even allude to what happened, she said, adding: ‘They have to be professional.’