Comedian Seann Walsh has reflected on the drama that surrounded his kiss with former Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones in his first interview since the series ended.
Last year, Seann and Katya found themselves at the centre of a media storm when they were caught on camera kissing after a night out, despite both having been in relationships at the time.
During an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, Seann discussed the media furore that ensued, branding his actions “stupid”, “selfish” and “hurtful”, and revealing he retreated to LA shortly after to get out of the spotlight.
Saying he’ll “always be sorry” about what transpired, Seann said: “I think when it all blew up, I don’t think I reacted in the correct manner. I didn’t know what to do, it was huge.
“It has been some time since then, I have had a lot of time to look at my actions, look at my behaviour and take responsibility as well. I think when you have gone through something like that, you end up thinking in clichés, like ‘if I could go back in time, I’d behave differently and treat her differently’ but unfortunately all I can be is as sorry as I am and as regretful as I am.”
Describing ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries as someone he “cared about and respected” and continues to “care about and respect”, he continued: “She didn’t sign up to [the media storm], Rebecca didn’t sign up to that, I did. I think that it’s all my fault and the mess, the size of it, that’s all my fault. I take responsibility for that.”
Seann also spoke about the statement Rebecca put out at the height of the scandal, in which she described his behaviour as “unacceptable” and revealed that when she’d questioned him about whether anything was going on with Katya, he’d branded her a “psycho”.
“When I first saw that statement it was so huge,” he recalled. “And you go through a mixture of emotions and I didn’t really know how to react. But I think with the time that I’ve had, that actually she is right, I think everything she said in that statement is right.
“I think if you lie and cheat on the person that you’re meant to care for and be in a relationship with, then that is a form of abuse, of course it is. All I can be is as sorry as I am. I hope one day that she’ll forgive me.
“We’ve not had much contact. I have apologised. With the statement, it’s funny how things work out because actually I’m grateful for that statement because if she hadn’t posted that, if I’m honest I probably wouldn’t have looked at myself and tried to change and I think I’ve done that.”
Seann went on to say that he’s cut down on his alcohol intake and is now in therapy in the aftermath of the national scandal.
“I went away [after Strictly] and basically, I went to LA, a very positive place,” he explained. “That’s what I needed.
“People in LA, they wake up, they’re smiling, they smile the entire day until bed, that’s what they do. They’re walking around, there is wellness, they’ve got their juices, kale diets, yoga mats, it’s an extremely positive place.
“I wanted to get away and I needed to get away from here and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of the UK, I can’t stand this’ and I went out and there was the positivity and I was enjoying it. And then after a month it did begin, as a Brit, to wear me down.”
Although this is Seann’s first time on camera discussing the drama since Strictly came to an end, he has addressed it multiple times in recent stand-up shows.
The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday night at 9.25pm on ITV.
