Pete Wicks was in danger of being the tenth celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing following his performance on Saturday night (November 30).
The TOWIE star, 36, and partner Jowita Przystal were in jeopardy after a “disastrous” dance left them bottom of the leaderboard.
But they avoided the dance off, which saw Gladiator star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe lose to Love Islander Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Škorjanec.
According to body language expert Judi James, Pete "looked like a man who had his Uber on speed dial", as the podcaster looked ready to leave the show weeks ago.
The reality star had relaxed somewhat on Saturday night, but following a mistake during his routine, he blurted out, "I'm sorry," to his pro-partner after their routine.
His on-air apology raised eyebrows with the expert, who suggested Pete expected to be voted out of the competition during Sunday night's results show.
Judi was speaking to Express Online on behalf of BetMGM. She said, "Pete Wicks looked like a man who had his Uber on speed-dial last week, but this week, his body language rituals suggested a man who had it revved up and waiting to go from outside the stage door.
"Jowita, meanwhile, seemed to be using industrial-strength flirt signals to try to gum their act together by adding some acted sexual intrigue. As Pete sat cross-legged during rehearsals, Jowita explained the plot of West Side Story using flirtatious facial expressions and gesticulation."
The expert continued: "His main non-verbal problem was an air or fatalism that settled over him like a dark cloud as he danced. His staccato blinking suggested he might be concentrating too hard and his subsequent mistakes suggested he was.
"Pete is not a man who tries to cover up his expectations of being voted out of the show. His apologies to Jowita, which were clearly audible in the mic, went from ‘I’m sorry’ to ‘I’m so, so, so sorry’ in rapid stages."
Saturday night was Musicals Week, and Pete and his partner Jowita performed a waltz to the song, Someday from the 1950s classic, West Side Story.
However, after his performance, which was riddled with errors, the show judges harshly criticised him.
Craig Revel Horwood criticised his footwork as "shoddy," and even Anton Du Beke branded the dance a "disaster."
The reality star sailed through to the semi-final, as he was seen fighting back tears of awe and disbelief.
When asked how he feels about his achievement, Pete told show host Claudia: "I'm speechless every week, especially this week. I didn't want to let her down tonight by messing it up and I'm so pleased."
