Seann Walsh has revealed he still feels traumatized by his time on Strictly Come Dancing and the aftermath following his kissing scandal on the show.
The comedian, 38, found himself at the center of a media storm when he was photographed kissing dance partner Katya Jones while she was married to Neil Jones and he was dating now ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries.
And now Seann has reflected on the incident, saying he will never dance again and that if he ever sees a ‘Strictly No Parking’ zone while driving it will bring back the bad memories.
He told comedian Russell Howard on the Wonderbox podcast: ‘I don’t dance. What it actually is is when you pull into a parking lot or something and it says, ‘Strictly No Parking.’ I still just say ‘Arghh’ every time I see it.
“I can hear the word – like a dog hears something – I can just hear the word strictly and I still say, ‘Arghh!’
Seann Walsh has revealed he still feels traumatized by his time on Strictly Come Dancing and the aftermath following his kissing scandal on the show
The comedian, 38, found himself at the center of a media storm when he was photographed kissing dance partner Katya Jones while she was married.
He went on to explain that he returned to comedy shows far too soon after the scandal broke and that he was often harassed on stage after falling into depression.
Seann said that while performing at the time he “looked unwell, thin and emaciated” and that some audience members would simply leave his shows as a result.
He said on the podcast: ‘I went back too soon – that’s for sure. You have to almost let the audience, or the audience, get over it. But I wanted to fight it a little bit.
“I didn’t want what happened to my life to take away the only thing I had.
‘I would have looked unwell. I was extremely thin and thin. It was so hard. The audience didn’t know how to feel. They would get up, they would leave. Sometimes they told me they were shocked by me.”
Mark Rothman, owner of The Top Secret Comedy Club, continued to book Seann and even intervened when he was recorded being harassed on stage.
Seann said: ‘I remember one instance where he took someone’s phone and deleted the video they had filmed where I was having a hard time.’
While taking part in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Seann kissed his professional dance partner Katya outside a pub.
And now Seann has reflected on the incident, saying he will never dance again and that if he ever sees a ‘Strictly No Parking’ zone while driving it will bring back the bad memories.
Seann was dating then-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries at the time (seen together), while Katya was married to fellow Strictly professional Neil Jones
While Katya was supported by her husband Neil after the ‘drunken mistake’, their marriage did not last when they announced their divorce in August 2019.
A photo of the pair kissing caused a media storm as the infamous Strictly curse resurfaced.
Seann was in a relationship with then-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries at the time, while Katya was married to fellow Strictly professional Neil Jones.
Despite the controversy, Seann and Katya continued on the show and were eventually eliminated in the fifth week.
Following the incident, Seann’s girlfriend, actress Rebecca, released an impassioned statement revealing he called her “psycho” and “crazy” for questioning his friendship with Katya, who he kissed on Rebecca’s birthday. They soon broke up.
Although Katya was supported by her husband Neil after the ‘drunken mistake’, their marriage did not last when they announced their divorce in August 2019.
Seann spoke about the scandal while in the 2022 I’m A Celebrity jungle.
Speaking to fellow campmate Sue Cleaver, Seann said: ‘Me and my dance partner, who was married, I was in a relationship, we were photographed kissing when we were on Strictly Come Dancing… that was the front page of every newspaper.’
Sue asked, “Why did that crucify you?” Why did that have such an impact?’
Seann said: “To be completely honest, my poor ex, my girlfriend at the time, posted a statement. My girlfriend (at the time) posted a statement and that was the end of it for me.”
Seann then added, “I said sorry. I sat on Jonathan Ross’ TV show and apologized. I sat down next to will.i.am and Samuel L. Jackson and apologized.
“That will forever be the weirdest moment of my life and I have to say probably the worst moment of my life.”
He told comedian Russell Howard on the Wonderbox podcast: ‘I don’t dance. What it actually is is when you pull into a parking lot or something and it says, ‘Strictly No Parking.’ I still just go ‘Arghh’ every time I see it’
Speaking to the Bush Telegraph, Seann later said: ‘That’s something in my life I don’t want to go back to. Of course I knew it would happen. They appear so naturally here.
‘I just want to move on. It’s really nice to have people who will listen and who are so kind and wonderful.
“I just want to be clear that I’m very sorry for what happened and I really want this to be a positive experience, and it really is. I want to get out of here and move on.”
Seann is now in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley, whom he met in 2019. They share one child together.