Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Taylor could face early exit from the popular dance competition due to her lack of chemistry with partner Johannes Radebe, according to a body language expert.
Darren Stanton told BirminghamLive that he feels there is "certain ingredient" missing from the comedian's connection with the South African professional dancer during her performance in the second live show of the hit BBC One show.
Taylor, 38, performed the paso doble to Les Toreadors by Georges Bizet last Saturday and although Stanton admitted that the Ted Lasso actress "works hard" and "wants to get as far as possible in the competition", he believes their bond is simply not strong enough at this stage for her to be a contender for the Glitterball Trophy.
Speaking on behalf of Betfair, Darren said: "It’s clear Ellie works hard and wants to get as far as possible in the competition, however I don’t see a strong enough bond between her and Johannes which other contestants have already shown with their partners. Sometimes it’s just down to basic chemistry.
"I’m not saying there are any particular issues between the couple, but there’s a certain ingredient that needs to be present for a deep rapport, and this is ultimately lacking in their performance.
"I am predicting another potential early exit for Ellie. But again, it all comes down to the public vote on how they perceive her progress."
Ellie, who admitted that she found the paso doble "very challenging", scored 23 out of a possible 40 from the judges who gave her mixed reviews follow her performance.
Anton Du Beke praised the mum-of-one for her "beautiful, beautiful line" but also said the performance lacked the "correct atmosphere".
Craig Revel Horwood was his usual brutal self with his "just walking around posing comment", while Motsi Mabuse said that her whole look was "fabulous" but lacked the "essence" of the dance style.
Head judge Shirley Ballas gave some positive feedback following Ellie's performance, saying: "I can appreciate the shape when you were in plain hold" and added that the comedian had "some decent footwork".
However, Shirley did admit that she felt the routine "lacked completely the essence of paso doble".
Anton and Motsi were the more generous of the judges as they awarded the highest mark of 7, while Shirley gave the comedian a score of 5 and Craig showed the number 4 paddle.
Strictly Come Dancing returns on October 8 at 6:30pm for Movie Week
