Strictly star Fleur East felt “frustration and shame” after landing in the dance-off on Sunday night (October 9), a body language expert has claimed.
Fleur and partner Vita Coppola were in the bottom two alongside Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice.
Both couples danced again on the results show, with the Strictly Come Dancing judges deciding to save Fleur and send Richie home.
Now a body language expert has claimed that Fleur believed she “didn’t deserve” to have been put in that position in the first place.
Strictly: Fleur and Vito’s ‘incredible connection’
Body language expert Darren Stanton, speaking on behalf of Betfair, analysed Fleur’s behaviour.
Darren claimed Fleur and Vito have an “incredible connection”.
However, he admitted that it hasn’t come across to the public – hence the pair landing in the bottom two.
“Fleur and Vito have an incredible connection and deep level of a rapport, which has clearly been established over the course of the past few months of knowing each other.
“It’s a shame that hasn’t come across to the public and they were in the bottom two,” he said.
Dance-off ‘shame and frustration’
Speaking about her body language, Darren claimed Fleur displayed “expressions of shame” and “frustration” in the dance-off.
When her name was announced by host Tess Daly, Fleur looked entirely shocked, her mouth falling wide open as she leaned into Vito for a reassuring hug.
I feel Fleur believed that she did not deserve to be in the dance off.
“From her body language in the dance off, Fleur displayed expressions of shame when she placed her head down and tilted it slightly to the left.
“As well as shame, this gesture can also demonstrate emotions of frustration, impatience and nerves. It’s clear Fleur was experiencing some of these as she fought for her position against Richie.”
Darren then added: “I feel Fleur believed that she did not deserve to be in the dance off.”
However, looking forward, he thinks Fleur will turn the weekend’s negative into a positive.
“I think she will use this experience and turn it into a positive to ensure she will remain in the competition,” he said.
“Let’s hope this week was just a glitch and she can sway the judges and public,” Darren concluded.
Strictly leaderboard
Fleur scored a respectable 29 points for her American smooth to Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid on Saturday night.
But this meant she was right in the middle of the leaderboard – in seventh place. This is a notoriously precarious place to be.
Richie was two spaces below her, closer to the bottom of the leaderboard.
And it was his samba to Hakuna Matata – with Richie and Giovanni dressed in animal costumes – that ended up being his last dance on the show.
Read more: Strictly fans call for Shirley Ballas to be sacked over results show behaviour
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday (November 15) on BBC One at 6.30pm.
Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and share your thoughts.