BBC Strictly Come Dancing: 'I couldn't see a way out,' Wynne Evans' heartbreaking confession
Welsh opera singer and radio host Wynne Evans is one of the 15 celebrities taking to the dancefloor for Strictly Come Dancing 2024. While he will be hoping to impress the judges and viewers at home with his moves, Wynne has always been a strong advocate for mental health and will surely be taking the competition in his stride.
Wynne, who had already carved out a successful career as an opera singer, shot to fame when he became the face and voice of TV adverts for GoCompare, the insurance comparison site. From there, he began presenting, landing his own radio show on BBC Wales and now covering on BBC Radio 2.
In 2023 he won Celebrity MasterChef 2023 after he stunned the judges, Gregg Wallace and John Torode, with his amazing Welsh dishes that has extended his popularity beyond the committed Welsh fanbase of his radio shows. He has always been incredibly open about his mental health, talking candidly and honestly about his previous suicidal thoughts.
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In 2023 Wynne spoke about the time that was the "saddest (he had) ever been in (his) life" (during the breakup of his marriage in 2016) and he felt like he had to "wear a mask" in public to make it seem like all was okay. He's bravely admitted that he had suicidal thoughts and he finally admitted to himself he was in a bad place on one Easter Sunday.
"I was doing a daily radio show where the feel of it is upbeat and keeping people in a good mood and cheering up the nation," he said. "The strapline of my show is, 'cheering Wales up by one o'clock,' but I was going through the worst depression, clinical depression. I would think about (suicide), I would try and action it... I couldn't see a way out; I couldn't see a way of ever being happy again."
Wynne said everything came to a head and he knew he needed help, and he "started to try and put (his) life back together". He continued: "I was feeling suicidal, and it was terrible. I just thought, I'm either going to do something terrible or I need to go and see a proper psychiatrist."
Wynne saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed tablets for his anxiety and depression, and he said he felt "much better, practically instantly". In an interview with WalesOnline, he said: "I think I've got to a stage with it where it's not the major part of my life that it used to be. It used to be everything would revolve around how I was feeling and how I was and now it's just part of my life that I know how to deal with.
"Of course, it comes up to bite you on the bum sometimes and you don't quite know how the day is going to pan out and something tiny can knock you off, but I think I am getting into a good place, I think I'm getting into a good rhythm." For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.
Recently, while appearing on This Morning before his Strictly Come Dancing debut when the series kicks off on Saturday, September 14, Wynne spoke about his incredible weight loss. He said: "One day I thought, ‘Right, this is it’. And one day I started doing a little bit of running – well, walking, actually, at the start. Then I slowly lost weight. So when the call came from Strictly I thought, ‘This is the right spot’.
“Now I can lose a bit more.” After presenting his radio show from 9am-12pm, Wynne said he heads over to the dance studio until 9pm – and said it’s “pretty full-on”. In the interview with WalesOnline, Wynne spoke about how his mental health and weight loss go hand in hand.
He said: "I think there is probably a link between, not weight loss per se, but how you feel. If you feel confident and if you feel well-exercised, if you are doing your steps every day, if you are drinking enough water then it's going to have an impact on your mental health. If you are big and happy in your own body, fine, that's brilliant."
The 24-hour Samaritans' helpline can be reached on 116 123. And a new 24/7 helpline offering urgent mental health support is now available in Wales. It can be accessed by dialling NHS 111 and selecting option two. Read more here.