Go Compare’s Wynne Evans opens up on staggering weight loss ahead of Strictly debut


Wynne Evans has opened up on his staggering weight loss after ditching an incredible seven stone since the first days of his Go Compare advert fame.

The Welsh opera singer appeared on ITV daytime show This Morning to chat to hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, when Ben said: “Let’s talk about – you’ve lost a lot of weight. You’ve lost seven stone now, is it, Wynne?”

Wynne replied: “Yeah. If you can believe it, the shape of me. I have. I just did it. 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”.

The star confessed that exercise has helped him with his mental health too, admitting after some “very dark thoughts” in 2016 he decided to change his life. Wynne said: “it really affected my mental health, my confidence and my ego - it totally changed me as a person.

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“It made me very aware of being alone. And even though I was only 46 I had this irrational fear of dying on my own. I had very dark thoughts and very dark days where I would contemplate all sorts of terrible things.”

The star sought help from a psychiatrist and bought an exercise bike and treadmill to use at home. He explained: “So if I’m at home and feeling a bit down I do 20 minutes on the treadmill and it’s the best way to make myself feel brighter. It's like singing, which also releases endorphins in the body.”

His weight reached 22 stone at his heaviest, when Wynne was grieving the loss of both of his parents and coping with the end of his marriage. He tied the knot with his now ex-wife Tanwen in 1999, but the pair decided to split in 2016 after 17 years together.

Wynne met Tanwen when they both embarked on the same course at the British Youth Orchestra, and Tanwen got her future husband’s attention by leaving notes in his pigeonhole. He proposed in Cardiff Central Station, just as Tanwen stepped off her train.

The pair welcomed two children together – a daughter, Ismay, and a son, Taliesin. Though he keeps his children out of the spotlight, he made a sweet admission when winning Celebrity MasterChef in 2023, telling the cameras: “The kids will love this, they’ll be like 'Dad! I can’t believe you did it when all you cook for us is beans on toast!'"

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.