Strictly Come Dancing 2022 is finally underway with the first week of the competition giving fans of the BBC talent show the first insight into this year's contestants.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, this year's show is the first time in three years the show has had a full live audience since the Covid pandemic.
Naturally, the celebrities and their professional dancer partners were keen to give it their all for the 750 studio guests, four judges and millions of viewers tuned in at home.
And after ticking off their first dance of the series, the couples got to present the best - and in some cases the might need some work - of what they have to offer live on BBC primetime.
But what what is really going down among the cast of newbies?
From the early signs of romance to who could be heading on the fast train to fallingoutsville, body language expert Judi James has given us insight into each couple from the dancefloor and beyond...
Tony Adams & Katya Jones – The start of an epic underdog fight
You can always tell when a celebrity’s dancing is going to be dire as they lower them from the ceiling like a piece of meat as a time-filler to keep them off the floor.
Tony’s dance was epically bad but is he a cert for being the first one off the show when the voting opens next week? Body language cues and tells suggest the Arsenal hero might be a survivor, thanks two three powerful non-verbal signals: Firstly, there is the powerful determination of Katya.
If anyone can keep someone turning out each week despite a lack of natural dance talent its her. Her gesture during the scoring was to place a hand on Tony’s ribs to literally shake his body, suggesting she hadn’t given up and neither should he. She also screamed victoriously at a score of 3 as though he’d scored a 9.
Second there are Tony’s own gestures and rituals after his dance. He literally winced as though in exquisite pain, baring his teeth in a gesture of agony before performing facial cut-offs, with his eyes closing, his hands being placed over his eyes and then his hand covering his entire face.
He showed this matters to him greatly and it was hard to watch. Lastly there was the chanting of his name from the other competitors. This didn’t only let us know he’s popular, it was also a contagious, counter-intuitive ritual that could urge the public to keep Tony in every week, no matter how bad his dancing skills.
Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe - Best romantic body language, even if it's not for real
After looking like a great budding comedy duo in rehearsal, the couple known as ‘Jelly’ managed to produce some very magical body language during their routine that turned them into a romantic-looking couple. The romantic signals continued off the floor, too.
While they danced their body language told a story, as though we were watching a scene from a Hollywood musical, but that story continued on the balcony. When the camera went back to them after Claudia had chatted to the other contestants, we saw Ellie and Johannes face-to-face, talking together quietly and intimately.
They have some very mirrored facial expressions and movements to suggest a complimentary relationship. Even their mock screams and the way they turned to perform a mock play-fight of celebration over their scores looked synchronized and coordinated. Johannes even pushed Ellie’s hand away from her mouth when he saw her appearing to chew her finger nails through her gloves and she happily complied, like a small child. This isn’t a genuine romance but the body language is romantic and their chemistry together could be the strongest of the series.
Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin - An epic partnership begins
There was a smile of what looked like relief as Nikita appeared to realise at the end of her ‘sassy’ and dynamic performance that he might be in with a chance of a Strictly win after all, as long as he can accept the fact that Ellie is the one the camera loves and needs to follow, not him.
It was obvious from their body language during the rehearsal clip that Ellie holds all the confidence and determination in this partnership. She leaned forward in their chat, making it look like a motivational team talk, with her legs splayed and her hands placed on her knees. She pushed him over in rehearsal and she was pushing him over in their routine, giving her all the power and the status out there on the floor as well as in the rehearsal room.
Nikita worked on Ellie’s facial expressions and this close-up study worked as she was a great performer and actor during their dance. She talks non-stop on the balcony and this could just be the series when the handsome, camera-loving Nikita sees the advantage of taking a back seat.
Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice - Most awkward couple of the night
These two produced some of the oddest body language signals, with a very basic lack of synchronicity and a distancing by Giovanni that left Richie’s routine looking more like a solo performance.
During rehearsals their greeting ritual did show signs of friendship, with Richie’s hand to his chest gesture on seeing Giovanni hinting at a strong sense of admiration and even awe. Gio said he was working on creating some calm for the very energetic and excited Richie but watching his sitting on a chair during the rehearsal clip while Richie did his dance routine in front of him looked like an unusual technique. Gio actually looked quite tired in one shot, as though Richie’s energy and boundless enthusiasm might be draining him.
Watching Richie dance solo on a giant Rubik’s cube did suggest either that Gio had a lot of confidence in his partner, enough to only step into the routine now and again, or that he feels their styles might not yet be compatible. Their body language together also looks a little awkward. Gio leans on Richie’s shoulder but there is quite a wide space between their torsos. It could be that Gio recognizes Richie has enough energy to spare and is best given some space to shine. He got praise for his dance but that amount of solo spotlight is unusual for a first week contestant.
Matt Goss & Nadiya Bychkova - Craig loses his cool in heartfelt response
Matt’s body language defines him as an analyser and a thinker. Twice he pointed his index fingers to his forehead to point out his brain and let us know he’s processing the experience intellectually rather than in a fun way. This serious approach might be making him put too much pressure on himself to be perfect, though.
He sucked in his lips as he danced and we could see Nadiya speaking to him when her face was visible. His posture suffered from this over-thinking as he appeared sweetly self-conscious. He also listened intensely to the judges’ rather negative comments and asked politely what was good about it and it was here that Craig seemed to lose his temper.
His face contorted in anger and he stabbed a finger and a pen as he called the judges ‘nasty’. His voice became harder and louder with anger and his body bristled as he said ‘I liked it’.
Matt looked deflated by the negative comments but keen to share emotionally, holding one arm out towards his fellow contestants on the balcony in a mimed half-hug as though needing some love and comfort from them all as he digested the criticism.
Jayde Adams & Karen Hauer - Sexual charisma aplenty
Jayde’s body language is a sexual phenomenon. In the brief clips of rehearsals and then during her Samba she ran through the entire handbook of non-verbal flirting while making it all look so effortless, authentic and natural that there must be more in the tanks for the next few weeks.
Her up and down scanning eye glance to Karen set the tone of flirty approval, followed by a cupping of Karen’s head and pulling it down onto her chest in a fun-flirty hug. She arrived for her routine dressed like Kim Woodburn but once she’d ripped her boiler suit off we got treated to a jaw-dropping routine that left Karen almost out of shot as Jayde stole the entire show. Her hip-roll deserved a show of its own and it more than made up for the fact that her feet (or ‘down below’ as Anton put it) were flatter and heavier than two steam irons.
Karen adopted a classic, rigid and very formal dancer’s pose beside Jayde to show there is an air of total professionalism running beneath all the tactile flirting and chemistry and although she stood quietly while Jayde emoted after her routine she also illustrated her ability to dominate and keep her celebrity partner in check when necessary.
The one gesture of being in charge is Karen’s nose-boop ritual, where she taps Jayde on the tip of the nose like a boisterous puppy to let her know she’s done something she approves of. With Jayde’s powerful sexual signals and her camera-stealing emoting (She did mime crying but doesn’t get the first tears award as her eyes looked dry) and Karen’s quietly confident, puppy-training rituals this could be a double-act that gets all the way to the finale if Jayde can just get those feet flying across the floor.
Fleur East & Vito Coppola - Will the mask drop?
This powerhouse match is made in muscular dancing heaven. Forget all the sweet smiles from Fleur and the very fake-looking lightning, social and over-kill smiles and open-mouthed laughter from Vito during rehearsal, when his mask drops there is a look of focused determination that looks matched by Fleur’s focus and her energy.
They make electricity together but can they make calm, physically supressed dances work like the American Smooth and the Waltz?
Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal - Magical technique of stealth and touch
I adored the way all Jowita’s carefully detailed work and almost total physical take-over of Hamza worked. These two seem so professionally like-minded it’s phenomenal. We saw Hamza sitting totally still during one of his wildlife jobs, showing emotional strength, total physical self-control in the face of fear, self-control and apparent bravery as a leopard crept up behind him.
Then we saw Jowita containing all the physical energy that we saw in her ‘angry’ dance when they met to quietly build her own dancer step by step, constantly using her hands to place Hamza’s head and neck into the right position like a shop window mannequin for their dance. It was a different approach but it was intellectual and physical chemistry that worked.
Kaye Adams & Kai Widdrington - Baby steps rather than instant sizzle
Kai’s patient and kind approach clearly worked for Kaye, who did throw some of those physical inhibitions away to surprise the judges with a great dance.
Kaye is very intelligent and used to being in charge but her submission signals to Kai suggests she’s slowly trusting him enough to get that dance-performer edge.
Helen Skelton & Gorka Marquez - Inner turmoil disguised by smile
This is the best couple in terms of their non-verbal twinning. They use mirrored, matching body language on and off the dancefloor, with synchronised movements and facial expressions. Like-bodied mirroring usually means like-minded thinking which is why this is working well so far.
Helen does display many non-verbal signals of stronger and more complex emotions though, and this is an emotional show to work on. Their professional ‘matching’ might need to flex later. Helen’s smile is topped by a much sadder eye expression and she tends to suck her lips in, which can hint at inner tension.
James Bye & Amy Dowden - A potential early winner
There’s no spark of excitement between these two currently, just James presenting himself as a family man and integrating the lovely, warm Amy into that family vibe.
James is like an octopus in terms of his attention, with Amy under one arm as he talks down the camera and into the audience as an actor and a dad and a husband.
Amy might need to get him to focus totally on her for the show’s run though if she’s going to produce a winner.
Kym Marsh & Graziano Di Prima - Power struggle?
Their body language looks like work in progress, suggesting there might be some power battles before they settle down to achieve any win. Kym places both hands on her hips a lot, which is a gesture of challenge and dominance. She even added a leg splay when she took on the judges.
She was also barriered during rehearsals, pursing her lips, tilting her head and sitting with her arms round her knees as Graziano seems to use open and leading gestures to get closer and to encourage her to open up. When they stand as a couple on the balcony they look tactile but Kym uncouples quickly to talk to Claudia and she might be too much in ‘fellow presenter’ mode at a stage where she should be putty in Graziano’s hands.
Despite claiming to be friends it looks as though Graziano still needs to build Kym’s trust, as she is looking wary and creating moments of distance.
Will Mellor & Nancy Xu - Masking that works
With Nancy’s fake-looking crying at the end and Will’s distracted and nervous-looking moments during some of their VTs, the expectations of these two were low unless you spotted their real potential via their body language dynamic during rehearsals.
Will uses hawk-like eye contact on Nancy when they’re rehearsing, clearly soaking up every command and piece of advice. She’s fierce when she’s not smiling and laughing and he matches that fierceness with his total attention to the routine.
What they became on the floor was barely visible to the naked eye off it but their subliminal body language messages show they’re a perfect match in terms of professionalism, dedication and ambition.
Tyler West and Diane Buswell - Confidence first aid needed
Tall, strong and with a dazzling, apparently confident-looking smile, Tyler looks like an easy match in terms of romantic male lead for Diane’s energy and dynamism out there on the dance floor. But has she spotted his body language signals of potential confidence issues?
When they’re not dancing Tyler tends to stand in a fig leaf pose, which suggests a strong desire to self-protect and create a safety barrier. This could be showing in the problems in his torso shapes when he dances.
They look like the ideal couple in terms of energy and charisma but Tyler might need to be started from basics in terms of building up his inner self-esteem, as solid as it looks externally
Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu - The 'excited teens'
These two dance so well together but they both seem to be presenting as excited teenagers with their body language, especially Molly, and this body language vibe might threaten their ability to create some very honest chemistry together on the dancefloor.
There was an interesting small ‘reveal’ that could suggests sparks might fly in future: Molly did a quick impression of Carlos to Claudia and it was interesting to see how suddenly Carlos’s smile dropped when he listened to her. It suggested a small lack of emotional synchronicity beneath the wide, happy and excited smiles we’re enjoying right now.
