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‘My career was dead. I was over’: Seann Walsh on ‘the most depressing month’ of his life

Comic, who was filmed kissing his ‘Strictly’ coach Katya Jones, said his career was ‘dead’ in the aftermath

Ellie Harrison
Thursday 24 November 2022 01:41 EST
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Matt Hancock does karaoke on I'm a Celebrity

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On Wednesday night’s episode (23 November) of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, comedian Seann Walsh discussed the aftermath of his Strictly Come Dancing scandal.

In 2018, the comic was filmed kissing his Strictly coach Katya Jones, when he had a longterm girlfriend at the time, actor Rebecca Humphries, and Jones was married to fellow Strictly pro Neil Jones.

Speaking to fellow campmate and comedian Babatúndé Aléshé in the I’m a Celebrity jungle, Walsh said: “Easily the most depressing month of my entire life, Edinburgh [Fringe] after Strictly.

“We get to Edinburgh, right, I think it’s a 200-seater, I’ve never not, in Edinburgh, sold out the first night. It doesn’t even occur to me that it’s not sold out.

“Just before I’m about to go on, my agent comes in and goes, ‘Just so you know, there’s like 30 people.’ To get told that when you’re just about to go on… horrific. It was at that point I was like, ‘Oh, oh…’ My career was dead, I was over.”

Walsh continued: “My agent said, ‘There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry, I’ve tried. I’ve tried everything.’ Do you know what I did, I thought, I’ve got to learn to drive. I can’t sit on trains, with people looking at me going, ‘Is that the guy that used to…?’

“I’ve got to learn to drive now as I’ve got to hide. Genuinely. I mean that, I swear on my life. I can’t be on trains.”

Seann Walsh and Katya Jones’s ‘Matrix’-themed Paso for Movie Week
Seann Walsh and Katya Jones’s ‘Matrix’-themed Paso for Movie Week (BBC)

This is not the first time Walsh has discussed the cheating scandal on I’m a Celeb. A few weeks ago, he told Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver, who’s left the jungle, about his then-girlfriend Humphries posting a statement about the incident.

Describing his public apology, which took place on The Jonathan Ross Show, Walsh said: “I said sorry. I sat on Jonathan Ross’s TV show and apologised. I sat next to will.i.am and Samuel L Jackson and apologised.

“That will forever be the weirdest moment of my life and I have to say probably the worst moment of my life.”

Reacting privately to Walsh’s story in the Bush Telegraph, Cleaver said: “He’s a lovely lad. He’s a sensitive soul, very sensitive soul. He’s been through the ringer the last three years. I think he’s really brave and I’m glad he’s here.”

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