Helen Skelton has "stepped up a gear" on 'Strictly Come Dancing' and has all but secured a place in the final.
Helen Skelton's improved Strictly performances have all but secured a final spot, according to a body language expert
That's according to body language expert Darren Stanton, who believes the 'Countryfile' presenter has been "hanging back a little" throughout the BBC Latin and ballroom series "almost like a race car", but he now thinks she has a great chance of winning the Glitterball trophy following her 39 out of 40 score last week.
Darren said: "Helen was most definitely at the top of her game this week. She started off slow and has had a rocky journey to this level in the competition, however whatever issues were besieging her in the past, she seems to very much have resolved them. She delivered a fantastic performance and received great feedback from the judges. Based on this performance alone, I think Helen has definitely secured herself a place in the final. It's almost like she is a race car, who has been hanging back a little, but now the finish line is in sight, I think she has certainly stepped up a gear.
"Helen seems to have had a reverse journey on the show. She started off extremely shaky and did not have a great rapport with her partner Gorka from the outset, it’s taken her a great deal of time to secure that connection - she is definitely a potential winner."
Hamza Yassin has been the odds-on favourite for the 'Strictly' crown for a number of weeks, but Darren believes he "wasn't at his usual level of sparkle" on the show last week, when he scored 36 points for his Samba.
He added: "Hamza wasn't at his usual level of sparkle this week and there were times when I observed him flash micro-expressions of fear. Micro-expressions only last for one fifth of a second and are almost imperceptible to the untrained eye. Gestures that display this include when the eye and mouth widen, and the eyebrows go up. This can potentially happen when a contestant may not have got a particular move or step correct, which causes an internal shift in emotion that leaks out to be observed. I think the pressure may be getting to Hamza - my gut instinct is that Hamza might be in the danger zone next week."
Kym Marsh became the latest celebrity contestant to get the boot from show last weekend, and Darren admits she appeared "absolutely devastated" to be out of the competition just a week before the semi-finals.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino - https://casino.betfair.com/ - Darren added: "When it was announced that Kym was the latest contestant to leave the show, she appeared absolutely devastated and showed expressions of feeling gutted and also very sad. As she paid tribute to her dance partner Graziano, the two were extremely tactile and exchanged a lot of pleasantries about being each other’s family. It was clear that Kym was almost on the verge of tears and was trying to hold back her emotions of sadness. It was also apparent that Kym was showcasing disappointment as her shoulders were down, and her whole posture had dropped in line with the way she was feeling.”
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