Leading Body Language Expert Dissects I'm A Celeb Campmates

A well-known body language specialist claims French footballing star David Ginola needs to stare danger in the face instead of gazing down the camera lens if he wants to be King of the Jungle.

Paddy Power drafted in the assistance of renowned expert Judi James to provide analysis on the stars of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! And according to her, Ginola has positioned himself as the ‘heroic alpha-male’ of the pack. She maintains that the Premier League player turned pundit Ginola has wooed his way into the hearts of producers and campmates as leader.

But Judi, who is a regular contributor to TV and press, suggests that the camps most resilient celeb will need to step up to the penalty mark and shoot if he’s to avoid being sidelined in the eyes of fans. 

This season of ‘I’m A Celebrity’ has thrown up two contrasting sets of body language signals. Firstly, there is the hippy commune style love-in that the celebrities look determined to create, with their ‘friends for life’ cries dropping the moment they set foot in their draughty home. Preview clips of them returning after the storm showed them reuniting like long-lost family with Danny (Miller) even performing a forward roll to show how delighted he was to be back in the bosom of his ‘loved ones’.

But rumbling away are secret signs of tension that threaten to spill over into open battles.

The morose and constantly tearful member of Emmerdale’s Dingles has been resolutely upbeat and happy since he beat his fears over the ‘Dreaded Diner’ eating task at the start of the series. But we shouldn’t forget that award-winning soap star Danny is watching Simon Gregson and Adam Woodyatt promoted to the role of Lords of the Camp and treated like A-list stars as the others sit around their thrones, listening in awe to their stories and experiences.

Danny’s smile hasn’t broken yet but he has suggested he should gatecrash their comfy double bed to put Emmerdale in there with Corrie and Enders, dropping a hint that he is feeling the snub more than he is letting on.

These two provide a strong alpha presence between them that should be making the camp mates feel safe and argument-free although this alpha/parental role will make both of them vulnerable if they are called on to step in over any squabbles.

At present Ginola is still a very good-humored and heroic alpha who is clearly over-supplied with charisma. When the group form sitting around the fire he is the one sitting at the top of the oval of seats with space on either side to register leadership status.

He will need one ‘dangerous’ trial to sustain his heroic status, but in the meantime, he is the one looking like he is modelling in a Chanel advert while all around him look scruffy. He even had to apply some very stylish-looking streaks of mud to his own face on Tuesday to show he could be less than perfect (he failed, he made mud stylish too). Ginola is also the only one in there bold enough to look straight into camera to communicate directly with the viewers outside the designated room and get away with it, suggesting he has charmed the producers, too.

Louise clearly adored her task with Ginola who was speaking to her in French as they rolled apples down a plank in the Castle Coin challenge earlier this week. Louise’s blink rate increased so much as a result it’s a wonder the apples didn’t get blown into the buckets on the down-draught.

These two were rubbing together like dry twigs about to burst into flames at any moment earlier this week. Kadeena had a bad day having burst into tears and panicked at the end of her snake-themed task and some of that pent-up emotion seemed to be carried into the cooking of the food she had been through so much to win.

The role of cook in any reality show is fraught with problems. It starts as a chore but ends up as a power role, especially in I’m A Celebrity, where the camp mates are hungry. As they paced around the fire like lions waiting for a share it was Naughty Boy who took over the pans while Kadeena showed signs of agitation behind him and this ended in some bickering.

Naughty Boy seems to be at the epicenter of flashpoints in the camp. His trait of removing himself from the tight group by sleeping a lot or threatening to walk out when he is unhappy will feel threatening to group cohesion in a pack formation based on sweetness, love and a mutual enthusiasm for climbing through fish guts. It’s a spell that can easily be broken and Naughty Boy is not the only one threatening the balance right now.

Adam Woodyatt is clearly popular in there and with viewers at home but his body language on Tuesday showed a more ‘adult’ approach that was bordering on ‘critical adult’, and that could mean flashpoints if he swerves the game the others are playing.

Having told Naughty Boy to pull his trousers up, on Tuesday evening he appeared to be the only one not leaping to his feet and screeching when other campmates returned from their Castle Coin task.  

He also looked rather serious when he told Frankie to ‘Oh shut up’ when she announced she was born the year he and Simon were working in their soaps. Frankie only stops smiling to cry and Adam was lucky she didn’t as he would have been made to look mean.