Chris Hughes’ Diary Room breakdown on Celebrity Big Brother was genuine and the star has ‘one key rival’ in the house, according to body language expert Judi James.

During Monday night’s episode, the former Love Island star, 32, broke down in tears after being branded a ‘game player’ after sparking backlash for his ‘creepy’ friendship with JoJo Siwa, 21.

The duo have set tongues wagging amid their close connection, with Chris branding her his ‘girlfriend’ despite JoJo already having a partner, promoting viewers to brand his behaviour disingenuous.

It came to a head when he was called a game player during a task, with several housemates hinting that his friendship with JoJo could be tactical.

He sat in the Diary Room for over an hour and sobbed: ‘I’m literally just in here being me, living ‘I hate f***king toxic stuff in life like I hate environments. It just brings you down.’

Now, commenting on Chris’ behaviour, Judi told Paddy Power Games: ‘Chris’ meltdown in the Diary Room looked authentic and will have been partly prompted by the sheer physical exhaustion of keeping up with a spectacular 21-year-old ‘playmate’ who lives life on a permanent sugar rush.

Chris Hughes ‘ Diary Room breakdown on Celebrity Big Brother was genuine and the star has ‘one key rival’ in the house, according to body language expert Judi James

During Monday night’s episode, the former Love Island star, 32, broke down in tears after being branded a ‘game player’ after sparking backlash for his ‘creepy’ friendship with JoJo Siwa, 21

‘Chris’s body language rituals became infantile, suggesting the task where he’d been made to act like a baby had triggered his vulnerable emotional side. 

‘Role-play in the intense climate of Big Brother can stimulate all kinds of emotional responses. It can look amusing on screen – but the Big Brother experience takes life back to playground level and being spoon-fed by fake ‘parents’ or lying in a pen all day might have helped push Chris into showing his authentic infantile side later.

‘We could see his struggle to stay strong in his incongruent displays when the comments about his being a game-player were aired.’

She explained: ‘Chris performed a dominant, arrogant pit-bare and a shrug to suggest a strong, resilient response, but there was also a wince of what looked like physical pain and he began to suck on his water bottle, which is a classic Big Brother signal of infantile feelings and a desire to self-comfort. 

‘Those water bottles always get used as comfort-producing baby feeding bottles when housemates feel under pressure.

‘In the Diary Room, Chris pulled his hood down over his face as his adult bravado melted. 

‘This act of masking showed he had no desire to perform reality-style ‘display tears’, which are seen as liquid gold in the ‘Scripted reality’ shows like TOWIE. 

‘His one swinging leg was a metronomic ritual aimed to self-soothe by creating a rocking effect.’

She revealed that the accusations of game-playing and faking a friendship for gain had ‘knocked his constant confidence into the long grᴀss’.

The duo have set tongues wagging amid their close connection, with Chris branding her his ‘girlfriend’ despite JoJo already having a partner

Judi said: ‘Chris’s body language rituals became infantile, suggesting the task where he’d been made to act like a baby had triggered his vulnerable emotional side’

Judi added: ‘His response was to ‘Hedgehog’, hiding inside his clothing in an act of self-protection inside the Diary Room, where he stayed for over an hour.’

The body language expert also revealed that Chris’ ‘role greed’ is what caused his ‘downfall’ as the once most popular housemate.

She explained: ‘One thing that has been learned from the Big Brother experience over the years is that when you put humans into confined groups, we revert to animal behaviours. 

‘The group becomes a ‘herd’ and roles within that ‘herd’ are often simplistic, as though the experience was about survival.

‘Chris took a mᴀssive risk when he consciously or subconsciously opted for two completely diverse roles in his group. This led to a ‘role-greed’ effect that led to his melt-down last night.

‘Chris has exhibited four key body-language and behavioural traits indicating a desire for alpha power.

‘In group settings he is often the one using alpha body language, either standing and using splayed body language to dominate attention or lying back and splaying to register a more relaxed and confident ᴀssumption of physical power.’

Judi added that his ‘face-off’ with Mickey Rourke was also alpha behaviour as he ensured the ‘safety’ of the herd via physical ‘bravery’. 

She recalled: ‘He stared out Mickey and refused to back down when confronted. Poor Chesney was crushed and in tears last night when he was told he hadn’t stepped up to act as protector when Mickey made a verbal comment to one of the girls, but nobody could accuse Chris of not being the hero.

Judi added: ‘His response was to ‘Hedgehog’, hiding inside his clothing in an act of self-protection inside the Diary Room, where he stayed for over an hour’

The body language expert also revealed that Chris’ ‘role greed’ is what caused his ‘downfall’ as the once most popular housemate 

Read More Chris Hughes’ brother Ben tears into ‘jealous’ Ella Rae Wise

‘Chris’s third alpha act was his use of the cat litter. This looked like an extreme, symbolic act of chest-banging and territory spraying. 

‘It was clearly an important statement for him to make as Big Brother advised him to use other options and the shocking, defiant nature of it suggested a desire to present omnipotence. The man who pees into cat litter on prime-time TV is the man who knows no fear.

‘His desire to be constantly touched, stroked and to even get his ingrown hairs, and so on, dealt with by another housemate mimic the kind of calming, cleaning rituals that herd members will perform on an alpha to create peace and unity in the group.

‘We saw how dominant Chris can be with this behaviour when he ordered his friend to suck a chocolate stain off his shorts.

‘But Chris’s ‘role-greed’ has led to last night’s melt-down when the others began to be critical. Because Chris has positioned himself as both alpha and House ‘troublesome teenager’, which are two non-complementary roles.’

Judi added: ‘His play behaviours have involved all-night whispering and some intimate, exclusive touch rituals that have been confined to one housemate, leading to accusations of game-playing and forming a separate faction from the rest of the house. 

‘Chris has painted himself into a corner here and the main battle has been primed.’

She also shared that he has one key rival when it comes to the group of celebs.

She also shared that he has one key rival when it comes to the group of celebs

‘Chris has a key rival in terms of both alpha and playful behaviours, and it is Danny,’ said Judi

‘Chris has a key rival in terms of both alpha and playful behaviours, and it is Danny,’ said Judi.

Adding: ‘Last night these two House ‘leaders’ seemed to be squaring up to each other as Chris’s ‘open, honest nice-guy’ image was being compromised while Danny’s professional skill of being able to ‘read a room’ was also under threat, challenging what was referred to as ‘my superpower’.

‘A war between two of the house’s strongest and most dominant characters is something that nobody in there will want to see as it could cause serious unrest. 

‘Hence the repeated use of the phrase ‘You know I love you’ as all the barbs went in, trying to serve love along with the verbal attacks.’

Fans have had much to say about Chris’ behaviour towards the much younger JoJo, which was branded ‘creepy’ and ‘not normal’ after he offered to ‘have her babies’.

On Sunday Chris’ brother Ben hit back at the accusations of ‘game playing’ and said he thinks his sibling will ‘absolutely’ remain friends with JoJo after they leave the CBB house.

During Sunday’s Late & Live, Ben was just one of the celeb’s family members to phone in and he quickly come to the defence of his beloved brother.

When asked if Chris and JoJo would remain friends, he said: ‘Absolutely, I think their friendship has actually threatened the other housemates a little but which we have started to see.

‘I’ve also said all the way though that they have shown a similar sense of humour and energy which Chris has repeated the words I have been using in the Diary Room during tonight’s episode, so i do think they will remain friends.’

CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!

MICKEY ROURKE – REMOVED

AGE: 72

FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show’s biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, he will be bringing plenty of drama.

DALEY THOMPSON – EVICTED

AGE: 66

FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain’s greatest athletes. He broke the decathlon world record four times.

PATSY PALMER

AGE: 52

FAMOUS FOR: It’s an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: ‘Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.’

DONNA PRESTON

AGE: 38

FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three’s Comedy Threesomes.

CHESNEY HAWKES

AGE: 53

FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as ‘perfect timing’, as he’s just released a comeback album

ANGELLICA BELL

AGE: 49

FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show – which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.

 

DANNY BEARD 

AGE: 32

FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner – whose real name is Daniel Curtis – has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother’s Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word ‘c***’ before immediately apologising after being informed they weren’t allowed to say that on the show.

CHRIS HUGHES

 AGE: 32

FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.

JOJO SIWA

AGE: 21

FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who sH๏τ to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.

 

TRISHA GODDARD – EVICTED

AGE: 67

FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy – but has bravely battled on.

JACK P. SHEPHERD

AGE: 37

FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith’s footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.

ELLA RAE WISE 

AGE: 24

FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.

MICHAEL FABRICANT – EVICTED

AGE: 74

FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster’s other reality show, I’m A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but previously denied is a wig.