EastEnders actress Lacey Turner has impressed the Strictly Come Dancing judges week after week, but body language expert Sean Johns has warned that her reserved nature and reliance on professional partner Vito Coppola could cost her a place in the final stages of the competition.
Following last week's programme, Turner secured a creditable fourth position on the leaderboard, just one point behind Delta Goodrem. However, Johns, speaking exclusively to Reach, highlighted her tendency of "leaning on Vito" as one of her most significant obstacles.
Growing Contact and Hidden Reactions
Johns commented on her most recent appearance, noting: "Vito has a hand on Lacey in almost every shot of the weekend, and she lets herself be held. On Saturday, his arm stays round her waist through all four judges. On Sunday, waiting for the results, he stands behind her with both arms wrapped round her middle; the week before, he had one arm across her shoulders, side by side."
He explained: "That growing contact suggests she is drawing her steadiness from him, the same thing Motsi picked up on in her comments. Her face, while she is being judged, tells the same story. When Shirley says she looked nervous, Lacey's lips press inwards and her smile stays closed."
Johns added: "People pull their lips in like that when they are holding a reaction back. When the praise comes, she turns away from it: after Anton's comments she presses her cheek into Vito's chest with her eyes shut."
Relief and Tension Revealed
He observed that Turner's sense of relief each week is unmistakable, saying: "At her 30 on Saturday, both hands go flat to her chest and her eyes go up to the ceiling. On Sunday, when her name is read, her hand covers her mouth, her eyes squeeze shut, she turns her face into Vito, and both hands go back to her chest."
Johns continued: "She did the same when she was called safe last week, so this is how her relief looks, and the eyes closing each time suggests she wasn't expecting good news. On the sofa afterwards, she leans forward, talks with her hands and rolls her eyes up laughing about watching Shirley's videos all week. Her body loosens completely once the verdict is out of the way, which suggests how much of her weekend's tension sits on the result."
Advice and Delta Goodrem's Reactions
His advice to Turner would be to "find one moment where Vito steps away and she holds the floor on her own with her chin up," adding: "The judges want to see her stand without him, and so far her body hasn't shown them that."
Johns also drew attention to Delta Goodrem's reactions, despite her being a firm favourite to win. He said: "Watch Delta's hands when she is called safe first on Sunday. Her mouth drops open and both hands fly up to cover her face before she moves anywhere. Only then do her arms go out wide into Kai; when the hug breaks, she throws an arm in the air and claps a hand over her mouth again. Covering the face like that is a shock response: people tend to do it when news lands harder than they expected."
He noted: "It is the third week running her hands have gone up first, so for all her scores she is still bracing herself every Sunday." However, he observed that, whilst reflecting on her success on the sofa, she talked "with both palms open and turned up, and throws her head back laughing," a sign of progress in her confidence.
Johns concluded: "Open palms and a body angled towards a partner are signs of someone at ease, and that is new for her on a results night. My advice: bring that sofa body to Saturday. Relaxed shoulders and open hands will help her."
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6.25pm.
