Holly Willoughby at NTAs with Holly clapping in bubble
TV

Holly Willoughby’s ‘insincere half-hearted clap’ at NTAs spotted: ‘She was feeling a lot of turmoil’

A body language expert tells all

It was rather a different NTAs experience to usual for Holly Willoughby this year.

Not only did she step out onto the red carpet without Phillip Schofield for the first time, but This Morning also missed out on winning the Daytime award for the first time in 13 years.

Holly Willoughby and Alison Hammond clapping at NTAs
The camera panned to Holly Willoughby as The Repair Shop were announced as winners (Credit: YouTube)

However Holly seemed to take all of this in good grace, clapping along happily as The Repair Shop had their time in the limelight. Or did she?

Holly Willoughby at the NTAs

Body language expert Darren Stanton has claimed Holly‘s clap was rather more “insincere” and “half-hearted” than initially met the eye, reflecting the “turmoil” she was hiding underneath.

She avoided eye contact on camera.

Speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, Darren said: “Looking at Holly’s reaction, she was trying to put on a brave face. I picked up that she was feeling a lot of turmoil in her head and internally.

“I can see that she was feeling gutted by masking a smile and her eye contact – there was no engagement through her facial expressions. She wanted to mask her disappointment in front of everyone, understandably. I can tell she also felt an embarrassment from the way she avoided eye contact on camera.”

Holly Willoughby at NTAs 2023
Holly looked gorgeous at the NTAs last night (Credit: Splash News)

He went on to more closely analyse her clapping.

“When Holly clapped for the winning show, it was an insincere half hearted clap – you can see that she wasn’t actually touching her hands together,” the eagle-eyed body language expert pointed out. “Her energy wasn’t in it. I don’t believe she has any animosity towards the winner, but she was clearly disappointed. She’s now the figurehead of This Morning and looking at her reaction, it was having an effect on her emotionally for sure.”

Darren also compared Holly’s reaction to that of Alison Hammond, who was sitting next to her.

“Alison Hammond’s response to the win differed,” he claimed. “We saw Alison clapping with lots of energy and she displayed genuine and engaged smiles throughout. It was clear she was happy for the winners.”

Read more: Holly Willoughby breaks silence on her first NTAs without Phillip Schofield as she makes sad confession

YouTube video player

Did you think the same? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Gabrielle Cracknell
Freelance Writer

Related Topics