Body language expert Judi James has suggested that Michael Sheen may have "beef" with fellow actor Richard E Grant on the BBC's Celebrity Traitors, pointing to a "telling" signal during the first episode.
The star-studded Traitors spin-off launched on October 1, with Love Island presenter Maya Jama and actor Richard E Grant revealed as the opening two Traitors. Within moments of his appointment, Richard inadvertently exposed his position by confessing his role to fellow contestants, placing him under considerable scrutiny and leaving the pair facing an uphill battle to deflect attention.
A gesture of rejection or ignore
Speaking to Paddy Power, Judi James highlighted the moment Sheen appeared to snub the Saltburn star. "When Richard arrived in the church all the other celebrities turned round with a smile of recognition and greeting for this major, iconic star," she explained. "Sheen part-turned his head to look but when he did see who it was arriving, he quickly turned his head back to the front again in a gesture of rejection or ignore, hinting there might be some kind of beef between the two men."
She added: "While Maya sat grinning at Richard beside him, Sheen's thin smile evaporated and there appeared to be a hint of a micro-tongue poke as he faced front, which can be a signal of dislike or rejection. At the very least there were no signs of pleasure at seeing his fellow thespian there."
Low profile strategy
Judi also noted that despite his successful career, Sheen has maintained a deliberately low-key presence throughout the show. "Sheen is hunkering in currently, proving his greatest acting talent might be to make himself invisible," she said. "He's clearly a big beast of the show but he must have also studied it enough to know a low profile helps keep you under the radar of suspicion."
Last night's episode saw the Traitors granted the chance to recruit a third member, with Amol Rajan and James Acaster emerging as their preferred candidates. Tonight's episode will unveil which of the two receives the third green cloak, while the other faces murder at the hands of the Traitors.
The Celebrity Traitors continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer, immediately followed by its companion series The Traitors: Uncloaked.
