Delta Goodrem's body language after her first performance back on Strictly Come Dancing revealed her true feelings about returning to the dance floor following a rib injury, according to a body language expert.
The singer and her partner Kai Widdrington progressed to Halloween week after Delta received the series' first 10 for her Rumba. Her score carried extra significance because she had only just returned to the dance floor after recovering from a rib injury.
Expert reads Delta's gestures
Body language expert Sean Johns exclusively told Express publisher Reach that Delta's concealed gestures disclose her genuine emotions about her first week back. He explained: "Watch the first two seconds after the music stops. Delta doesn't turn to the judges or the crowd; she goes straight into Kai, her face buried in his shoulder, both arms wrapped round his back, and the hug holds well past the point where a stage hug would break."
"That is not a celebration hug; a celebration hug is upright and looks outwards. Hiding the face in a partner is what the body does when it has been holding something for a week and can finally put it down," he said.
While Delta seems eager to move past her injury, Sean identified indicators that her self-assurance has yet to completely recover: "When they part, her hand goes up to her cheek before she looks anywhere else, the gesture we use to catch a tear we haven't decided to show. Only then does she find the crowd."
Composure and support
Sean compared that with her walk-on: "hand in Kai's, chin level, shoulders back, a composed face. The composure got her through the dance; the hug is what it cost. Off the floor, the same two gestures come back. Her arm stays hooked around Kai's neck the whole walk, which is a body that doesn't want to let go of its support yet."
Nevertheless, Sean highlighted that Delta was eager for her co-stars and judges not to focus on her injury: "She wants this filed as a blip, not a story, and her hands are already arguing for it."
Judge Anton Du Beke remarked on her Saturday performance: "I'm a bit old-fashioned with the Rumba because I like it to be romantic, I don't want it to be sexy. I don't want all the unpleasantness; I want love. And I have to tell you, this is my favourite dance of the series, by a million miles."
Viewer reaction and next steps
Sean cautioned that Delta cannot continue to approach it "carefully" if she wishes to progress all the way in the contest. He continued: "The danger is that the body doing the dance was a careful one, and careful reads as careful. Kai chose the rumba to rest the rib, Anton gave it a ten and Craig a seven, and that gap is where she is: between the emotion she showed and the risk she couldn't take."
Supporters took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their views on Delta's comeback, with one stating: "Delta was given the Rumba, because it's slow and gentle, with her injury in mind. But she knocked it out of the park, I enjoyed it and I love that Celine Dion song. She definitely deserved that 10 from Anton."
However, some viewers believed she received excessive scores, with one posting: "Overmarked by Anton, especially. There are 3 Judges who give marks that folks can reasonably understand then Anton who tonight handed out sympathy votes to Shaun and Delta. Time for a change."
For Halloween Week, Delta and Kai will perform a Viennese Waltz to Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers. Posting to Instagram after her comeback, Delta declared: "It's all coming back to me... Couldn't have asked for a better first night back in the ballroom. Thank you for your support, we're so grateful to be dancing for another week."
