Strictly Come Dancing judge Gorka Marquez’s response to Craig Revel Horwood’s feedback during Friday’s live show has been labelled ‘bizarre and unpleasant’ by a body language expert.
The BBC One judge was met with resounding boos in the studio as he shocked the audience with his appraisal of Helen Skelton and professional dance partner Gorka’s Couple’s Choice.
The steamy routine left his fellow Strictly judges and viewers at home stunned and earned the couple a raft of 10s – yet they were denied the Holy Grail of 40 points as Craig only scored the routine with a nine.
Dancing to Mein Herr from Cabaret, BBC viewers dubbed the routine the Countryfile host’s ‘revenge’ dance to her ex-husband Richie Myler.
Body language expert Judi James has said Helen and Gorka rode into the quarter finals ‘on an overpowering tidal wave of emotion’ and pulled out all the stops on the BBC One ballroom dance floor.
She told The Mirror: “Clearly aware that they were being squeezed and budged-up in the schedules by the World Cup football the judges and the pro dancers all acted as though England had just won the trophy after Helen danced.”
She then continued to note the response to Craig’s criticism, saying: “Gorka darting across to pose in front of Craig with his back turned and his bum poked out like an animal gesture of rejection and disgust was truly bizarre and unpleasant.”
She went on to remark on the ‘emotion’ of Helen’s VT on the show, as she was seen with her children, while her parents spoke about wanting their family to be as happy as they can be.
She said: “Helen became tearful as she spoke about their ‘unquestionable support’, using an emphatic precision and measuring gesture as he repeated the phrase.
“She told us that ‘Strictly helped me remember who I am’ and she spoke about ‘power’ before performing a dance that included Gorka acting as her prop.”
Judi went on to question whether the dance had indeed been everything it had been hyped up to be, saying: “Fosse choreography needs to be surreal but Helen was always Helen.
“On a night when the judges were hyped to the gills though no hyperbole was left unused though, with the pro dancers going wild and Nikita clambering up onto a table to register his enthusiasm by punching the air and sticking his chest out.
“There was chanting and stamping and later on the balcony it was still all about Helen, with first Will and then Kym hugging her as the others heard their scores.”
