Why a Live TV Presenter Is the Hardest Traitor to Read

Every series of The Traitors, the Faithfuls stare at faces. They look for the tight smile, the flicker of worry, the laugh that comes a beat late. This series one of the Traitors is Maya Jama, and with her that search is close to pointless.

It has nothing to do with how good a liar she is. It is her job.

A presenter's face is trained

A live television host spends years holding a warm, open expression while doing three other things: listening to a producer in one ear, watching a clock, and working out the next link. Showing the face the moment needs, whatever is going on underneath, is the craft.

So the part of Maya the Faithfuls are studying is the one part of her that has had professional practice. A relaxed face at the round table tells them nothing about her. It is simply what her face does when a camera is on.

The same is true well outside television. Experienced salespeople, senior executives, barristers and anyone who has done a lot of media work all have a practised face. If you judge them by it, you will learn only that they are practised.

Where to look instead

The face is the most managed part of the body. The further you get from it, the less rehearsed things are.

• Hands to the neck or hair. This is self-soothing: the body calming itself as stress rises. Once means nothing. It becomes interesting if it only happens when one particular name is mentioned.
• Feet and torso. We turn towards what we are comfortable with and away from what worries us. A smile that stays on someone while the body angles towards the door says the conversation has become uncomfortable.
• Going still. A naturally expressive person who suddenly sits very still is usually concentrating hard. Keeping a story straight takes effort, and effort tends to quieten the hands.
• Surprise that arrives late. Real surprise crosses the face and is gone in about a second. A shocked look that turns up late, or is held for the room to see, is performed. A Traitor has to react to every reveal already knowing the answer.

None of these is a tell. Each is a moment worth a second question.

What gives a Traitor away is usually what they did

Body language is the weaker half of the evidence. The stronger half is behaviour over time: who someone defended, when they changed their mind, what they knew and kept to themselves. By the recaps, Maya began by steering the room away from Richard E. Grant and then voted with it to banish him, pointed at Jerry Hall, and kept quiet about a shield. Each of those is a position she now has to stay consistent with.

That is true of every Traitor, and it is why the sharpest Faithfuls keep notes on votes, not on eyebrows.

Baseline first

The largest study of lie detection, Bond and DePaulo's 2006 analysis of 206 studies, put people's accuracy at 54%, with guessing at 50%. Nerves at the round table prove nothing, because the Faithfuls are nervous too.

What works is baseline. Watch someone when nothing is at stake, at breakfast or on a mission: how much they gesture, how long they hold eye contact, how quickly they answer. Then look for the moment they stop behaving like themselves. That is when to ask one more question. I've set the method out in full in how to spot a Traitor.

The polished person in your meeting

Most of us deal with a version of this every week. The candidate who interviews beautifully. The supplier whose pitch never wobbles. The senior colleague who is always composed.

Their composure is real and it is a skill, so don't treat it as an answer. Notice how they are in the easy first five minutes, then watch what changes when you reach the part that matters: the gap in the CV, the delivery date, the number. A change is where your next question goes. That is what the Body Language Foundations course teaches, and what we train hospitality, retail, security and HR teams to do.

Every weekly read, Strictly included, is collected on our press page. To test your own eye, try the free body language quiz.

Frequently asked questions

Can body language show that Maya Jama is a Traitor?
No. Body language shows moments of discomfort or change. It cannot show which side a player is on.

Why are TV presenters hard to read?
Managing their expression on camera is part of the job, so a calm face tells you very little. Hands, posture and reactions to surprises are less rehearsed.

What should the Faithfuls watch for?
A change from someone's normal behaviour at a moment that matters, especially a reaction to a reveal that arrives late or is held too long. Then ask another question.

Image: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative