Nigella Lawson Pulls A Thatcher During First Post-Divorce Interview

It was the interview we were all waiting for.

Ever since last summer when those photos were released, the ongoing saga of Nigella Lawson's divorce from millionaire businessman Charles Saatchi had it all - violence, drugs and even a tell-all court case.

The 54-year-old cook has finally washed that wrinkly old codger out of her gloriously glossy hair but has remained tight-lipped on the split, until last night.

Nigella was the guest of honor on BBC's The Michael McIntyre Chat Show and struggled to hold back the tears as she discussed the 'dips' in her life.

Our body language expert Judi James disects the Domestic Goddess' tears, why she chose the right show and how she evoked the Iron Lady.

'The Macintyre show is an unlikely choice for a public emote, unlike Pier’s Morgan’s Life Stories where the sofa must be so tear-sodden by now it’s in danger of collapsing.

'Michael is a comic after all and he has the kind of face that would probably still look smiley if he’d been stabbed by a cactus, which in fact did happen during a very hilarious pre-Nigella survival sketch with Bear Grylls.

'But then on came Nigella with a book to plug and so after some dodgy double-entendres about whisking things to make them hard, which got a rather old-fashioned look from the domestic goddess, she was onto what she bravely called her ‘dips’ in life.

'The newspapers got their story as the tears which had seemed to have been hovering since her arrival on stage in her red pixie boots overflowed to the point where she was dabbing away with her fingers.

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'A chat show is probably a very dangerous place for a celeb who doesn’t want to talk about their private life as Nigella says she doesn’t (the clue is in the word ‘chat’) but Michael might have been an inspired choice of host as he looked instantly uncomfortable during the emote, like a small kid who has caught a teacher losing it in class.

'Instead of probing further or mentioning the ‘D’ word (divorce) he quickly moved back to the safer ground of gags.

'Nigella’s eyes looked damp throughout but she managed to pull back from actual crying.

'Her body language when Macintyre put down her relaunched book and approached the ‘dips’ suggested she knew what was coming though, as she squirmed in her seat, binding her legs together tightly and wringing her hands as though tying herself up in a ball of self protection.

'Her hand went to her face, ostensibly to scratch but it formed a cut-off or hide gesture as it went between herself and the audience.

'She wiped one eye and then the other and then got back to business, very much in the style of Margaret Thatcher during her TV interview after she left No10 when she managed the miracle of dabbing one tear but still talking, whereas for most women tears are a full-body experience that involves a crumpling of the chin and then face and a yodelling effect on the vocal chords.'

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