‘Rishi Sunak cracks during Love Island-style questioning in anxious This Morning interview’
Rishi Sunak appeared on ITV’s This Morning earlier today just hours before the General Election as he looks to avoid any last-minute slip-ups before Britain heads to the polling station
Rishi Sunak “looked wary” and tried to cover up his anxiety with “a non-verbal display of upbeat nonchalance” during his awkward This Morning interview, according to a top body language expert.
The Prime Minister appeared on the ITV programme earlier today, just hours ahead of potentially being ousted from No. 10 Downing Street as the British public prepare to head to the polls for tomorrow’s General Election.
Sunak couldn’t afford any slip-ups during one of his final TV appearances ahead of the vote, but body language expert Judi James believes he succumbed to the pressure of “Love Island style questioning” from the This Morning hosts.
His introduction on the daytime TV show came just after hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard bid farewell to Britain’s most inked mum – a segment Sunak had seemingly been watching with interest.
Analysing Sunak’s body language during his This Morning appearance, Judi writes: “His face powdered to a flat matte and wearing skinny slacks plus his now-trademark zip-neck sweater in the reassuringly business-like colour of deep navy, Sunak revealed a lingering fancy for a tattoo (his eyes closed as he mused on the design) and that his favourite meal is ‘sandwiches’.
“His eye expression looked wary during his intro and his smile sickly, with the lower lip dropped and the upper hiked up but with a tell-tale drooping of the very corners of the mouth suggesting a slow puncture of optimism despite his ‘I feel good!’ response when asked, Love Island-style ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Overall he looked awkward or as though he was feeling awkward’
“Sunak has recently been keen to talk about his sleep patterns. ‘I got up just before four and went to bed around midnight’ has been repeated enough to sound like part of his official pitch for the job of PM and he threw it in here but with no vocal inflection to imply whether it was a boast or a cry for pity and sympathy.”
Delivering her verdict on Sunak’s general performance on the ITV show, Judi concludes: “Overall he looked awkward or as though he was feeling awkward and trying to cover the awkwardness with a non-verbal display of upbeat nonchalance. He bounced in his seat when mentioning some new analysis that suggests 130,000 votes can make a difference and when Ben compared him to Southgate bringing on subs too late, i.e Boris, his overkill smile with a huge display of upper and lower teeth looked mirthless.
“Sunak threw his right arm out along the sofa as they talked but as the ‘chat’ turned into a lively debate his right fingers started to pick in a signal of anxiety. Ben’s mention of D-Day brought a dramatic change of eye expression from the PM. The crinkly bonhomie died and instead he fixed Ben with a dull, hard stare. A mention of viewer’s questions saw the PM perform an eye-dart to the side as though looking for the exit. But then the question of election night dinner came up and the smile returned as he got onto the ‘safe’ subject of sandwiches and pork pies.”
