James Bye is "convinced the game is up" on Strictly Come Dancing, according to our body language expert.
Judi James has insisted that the EastEnders star is convinced he will be departing the show this week, after some telling signs in his body language following his dance tonight. James and Amy Dowden did a Charleston to Bumble Bee by LaVern Baker tonight.
The pair ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard after their routine, but still bagged a respectable 29 points out of 40. However, body language expert Judi has revealed it appears James has already resigned himself to the fact he could be leaving.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, she said: "Did James just hand in his resignation speech tonight?
"Watching Tony Adams’s almost miraculous upgrade from comedy contestant to a genuinely talented ballroom dancer might have been the last straw for James whose body language seemed to signal he had tried his best but he knew when he was beat."
She added: "His dance wasn’t memorable apart from the fact that Amy was lowered from the ceiling, which is a time-wasting technique that often signals a lack of confidence in the routine. The lifts looked clumsy and James looked rather flat-footed but the worst thing was that he seemed to have lost his cheekiness, bounce and confidence."
When James headed up to the balcony to get their scores, Judi insisted the actor appeared to be sure he would be leaving this week.
"On the balcony there were at least five ‘tells’ that suggested he thinks the game might be up: When his right hand wasn’t on his hip it was used to scratch the side of his face in an exaggerated gesture that suggests apology," she said, "The phrase ‘at the end of the day…’ sounded telling and he looked away as he spoke with his lower jaw dropping and widening in a wince.
"James mimed the size of his improvement but he also added that ‘This lot are so talented…’ waving an arm at the other contestants. He turned his palm out towards them modestly and looked away from them, shaking his head as though feeling defeated."
Judi said James tried to maintain some sort of "bravado" - but his disappointment was evident.
She said: "James is so likeable and so popular but he didn’t seem to realise that potential tonight. Amy spoke to him as though trying to reassure him but he replied with a mouth shrug before throwing both his hands up in the air in another gesture that implied submission.
"He tried to perform a smile when the number came up for votes but it was a lightning smile that only involved the mouth and not the eyes. It appeared too quickly and looked fake, suggesting bravado rather than genuine happiness."
*Strictly Come Dancing returns on Sunday at 7.20pm on BBC One.
