My important MISSION

ROSE AYLING-ELLIS on highlighting the challenges faced by the deaf community

- CAREN CLARK

ROSE AYLING-ELLIS: SIGNS FOR CHANGE
NEW MONDAY, 9PM, BBC1 FACTUAL

Rose Ayling-Ellis enchanted fans of Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 with a moving and partially silent Couple’s Choice routine, which gave a thought-provoking glimpse into the reality of life as a deaf person.

Her appearance on the sequinned spectacular, which eventually saw her lift the Glitterball trophy with her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice, led to a huge increase in people wanting to learn British Sign Language.

Now, in a new BBC1 documentary, Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change, the actor, who has been deaf since birth, looks more closely at the communication options available to those with hearing loss and the difficulties they still encounter.

Cameras also follow Rose, who came to fame playing Frankie Lewis/Carter in soap EastEnders, as she speaks to experts and members of the deaf community, as well as her parents about her own childhood experiences.

TV Times joined Rose, 28, for a video interview to find out more about this passion project…

Why did you want to make this programme, Rose? 

I never thought that there would be a BBC documentary with me in it; it’s a dream come true! After Strictly, I was approached to make documentaries about how I hear music but I feel I covered that. Strictly was so positive, but we need more awareness of how hard it is to be deaf in the UK. And it’s not because of us being deaf; it’s because of society’s attitudes. Although people are more accepting, we still need to keep working on it.

How do you feel about being deaf?