'WINNING STRICTLY HAS HELPED ME CHANGE THE LIVES OF DEAF PEOPLE'

EASTENDERS STAR ROSE AYLING-ELLIS ON MISSING THE GLITZ AND GLITTER, HER BOND WITH GIOVANNI AND HER PRIDE AT CHAMPIONING THE DEAF COMMUNITY

- KIRSTY HATCHER

As this year’s Strictly hopefuls get ready to slip on their sequins and strut their stuff, it’s not surprising to hear that last year’s winner, Rose Ayling-Ellis, is feeling a tug at her heartstrings.

“I really miss it,” the EastEnders star, who was partnered with pro Giovanni Pernice, tells us. “I loved dressing up and the hair and make-up every week. That was the most exciting thing.”

Rose, 27, raised the profile of the deaf community by appearing in the BBC One show and she and Giovanni even won a BAFTA for their Couple’s Choice number – a dance to Clean Bandit’s Symphony with a silent section.

“I was so nervous,” she tells us of accepting the award. “My knees were shaking when it got announced. I was on the stage and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Olivia Colman!’ Stephen Graham and Suranne Jones were there too and Suranne was looking at me directly when I was doing my speech and looked emotional. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re listening to me. This is amazing!’”

And it wasn’t just celebrities listening to Rose and her message from the deaf community. A Bill to make British Sign Language a recognised language was also passed after her Strictly triumph, while deaf people have been sharing with Rose how she has helped change their lives.

“When you’re in Strictly you’re in a bubble and you don’t really see what’s going on in the outside world,” Rose tells us over Zoom, joined by her sign language interpreter Kirsty Edwards.

“After I finished and I got out to see the deaf community again, they said more people had been saying thank you to them and more people were signing now.”