Body language expert Judi James has given her verdict on Fleur East's "sizzling" Strictly dance that ended in a fake near kiss routine, with partner Vito.
Judi said "every bit of Fleur’s emotional input appeared" during her and Vito's Argentine Tango to Paint it Black, which was described as the "dance to beat" by Craig Revel Horwood and reached second place on the leader board, with 39 points.
The pair came back fighting after they were in the bottom two and had to take part in the dance off, against Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice.
While Anton, Craig and Motsi all voted for Fleur to remain, head judgeShirley said she would have saved Richie after the dance off, but tonight she heaped praise on the singer's routine, calling it "sensuality beyond belief", and giving it a nine.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Judi said Fleur had cracked controlling her emotions in her dances.
She said: "Last week Fleur was in the dance-off but this week she performed what Craig called ‘The dance to beat’, a sensual and sexually dynamic routine that ended in the first ‘near kiss’ of the season as she and Vito stayed in role after their dance to stand panting and open-mouthed in a signature Strictly ‘fake kiss’ ritual that the fans adore, after the music had ended.
"Fleur’s emotions have been strong throughout this competition but not always channelled into her dances.
"Vito has appeared to have been struggling to get those emotions flying in formation to power her dances rather than leaking out at the wrong times and the wrong places, but this week the couple cracked it."
After the pair returned to the balcony to receive the score, Fleur described how she loved the dance, and being in the bottom two last week made her even more grateful to be on Strictly.
Vito said: "You should keep this fire alive, but inside for the Tango. This week, no animals, just like a woman, with the feelings and passion and everything she is."
After the pair received their score, Fleur and Vito hugged with Fleur then jokingly dropping to the floor with joy.
Judi explained: "Every bit of Fleur’s emotional input appeared burning in the fire of this dance. Vito was sweating by the end of it, telling us that there was ‘no animal, just all woman’ from Fleur tonight.
"Fleur used a precision pinch gesture as she spoke, showing how she can now combine powerful emotions with forensic footwork.
"She fell on the floor when she got her scores and it was shocking to think what exciting talent fans would have missed out on if she had somehow been eliminated last week like Shirley thought she should."
Shirley received allegations of sexism from viewers after she said she would have saved Richie rather than Fleur, but the X Factor star stepped in to defend the judge, saying the criticism was unfair.
