A BBC Strictly Come Dancing body language expert has said Ellie Leach is now the "strongest contender" after rival Layton Williams "slipped up" this weekend. Darren Stanton has delivered his verdict on Ellie and Vito Coppola's dance, which joint-topped the leaderboard alongside Layton and Nikita Kuzmin in Blackpool.
“Ellie is really emerging as one of the strongest contenders after another strong week. They have passionate body language with one another, with engaged eye contact and clear reciprocal liking - even when they’re not dancing," Darren said. "I can definitely see Ellie reaching the final at this stage, as she’s doing all the right things."
Speaking on behalf of Betfair Casino, Darren went on: "I can see that Ellie and Vito are now in a closer relationship and it’s been growing week on week. Ellie and Vito have proven they are there to learn, but to also embrace every moment they have together.” And speaking about Layton and Nikita, he added: "I could see that Layton and Nikita were also a couple who felt the pressure this week.
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"I could see that Layton slipped up a few times, and he was nervous. It’s clear he was feeling the pressure and it knocked his confidence a bit. He wasn’t feeling as strong and connected with Nikita. Normally Layton is grinning from ear to ear, but this week I picked up on a few fake smiles.
"I could sense some self doubt as his eye contact wasn’t as engaged and he wasn’t as open with himself. We will need to see them honing in on their levels of confidence next week, as they could fall behind.” The remaining six couples will take to the dancefloor next when Strictly Come Dancing returns on Saturday November 25 at 7.30pm, with the results show on Sunday at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
