SHOCK & JAW
Body language expert reads between lines of Big Brother stars’ reactions
Playing a role in Celebrity BB can be stressful as it is a 24/7 performance
A BODY language expert has revealed Louis Walsh can do “jaw-dropping shock expressions” better than anyone in Celebrity Big Brother after he spent years perfecting his craft on The X Factor.
Judi James is famed for studying celebs’ body language and dissecting what their words really mean.
Speaking to Paddy Power Games, Judi said Louis has perfected the art of the “pre dump” when he slags off people in the industry.
She said: “Louis tells us that Fern has ‘been in the business for 100 years’ and clearly has a game plan. Fern calls Louis out as the ‘biggest snake in the house’.
“Unlike the younger housemates, Fern and Louis are veteran body language maskers but both celebs are like paint-strippers when it comes to spotting fake behaviours in others and calling them out.
“Playing a role in Big Brother can be stressful as it’s a 24/7 performance.
“Louis has two techniques that will be keeping his stress levels low though: Firstly, he is verbally open about his feelings, allowing him to avoid bottling them up, but then he is skilled at the body language art of the ‘pre-dump’.
“When someone says or does something he really doesn’t like, he will mask by widening his eyes, throw out his arms and pretend not to care.
“But first he will often let rip with a more honest response.”
Judi reckons Louis is “one of the honest celebrity housemates in the history of CBB”.
She said: “Louis spent years performing appropriate reaction expressions as a judge on The X Factor and this also means he will often get camera time when any announcement is made. Louis can do jaw-dropped shock expressions better than anyone in there and the way he admitted to Sharon that he was overreacting for show makes him one of the most honest celebrity housemates in the history of CBB.”
Judi said Fern’s row with Nikita “threw up conflicting extremes” to viewers, who were used to seeing her talk with the “sweetest, kindest smiles in the business”.
She added: “Fern spent many years on one of the most saccharin shows on TV. As a result, she has one of the sweetest, kindest smiles in the business.
“Her eyes crinkle, her cheeks rise and go round and her lips pucker with a dipping of the middle of the upper lip signalling nurturing, empathy and caring. It’s also a congruent facial expression. All the muscles and lines are involved in creating it readily and easily. Often we can spot the applied mask because it takes so much effort but there’s zero effort in Fern’s case.
“Which is why her calling out of Nikita over ‘stripey top-gate’ was such a powerful moment and not just because the spat involved two house ‘good-guys’. Fern did it with her ‘kindly’ smile in place.
“Fern knew Nikita had been nominating her on speed-dial. She also got ‘snubbed’ when she sat to talk it out with him [potato-gate]. Unlike Louis with his pre-dumps, Fern had been bottling her emotions, meaning she shocked and confused the house with this smiling take-down.
“Fern’s body language threw up conflicting extremes. Her pose and her pointing index finger mimed an attack. Her, ‘We get on alright when we’re playing games’ came with her sweet smile and this wrong-footed Nikita, who smiled back.”