Strictly Come Dancing star Rose Ayling-Ellis has been made an MBE for her services to the deaf community.
Born deaf, the actress, 29, is now a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours. She found fame portraying Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2020 to 2022 after starting her career in short film and on stage.
She became well-known when she competed in Strictly Come Dancing and won. It was a showstopping routine on the show that won her a Bafta and made her a household name.
The first deaf contestant to ever take part in the show, she won the 2022 series and legions of new fans after a routine in which the music paused and she and partner Giovanni Pernice danced in silence as a tribute to the deaf community.
Rose is known for her acting work (PA)
Rose and Giovanni won Strictly (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)The emotional dance got the nation talking abut the experience of deafness and helped the duo bag the glitterball trophy and won the must-see moment award at the Baftas. In May 2022, she became the first celebrity reader to perform a CBeebies bedtime story in sign language, telling the tale of Raymond Antrobus’s children’s picture book Can Bears Ski?
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She was also the first deaf person to deliver the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, where she urged TV channels to 'fix their problem' and subtitle 100% of shows to improve access and representation for deaf individuals.
Rose worked with Mattel on the production of the first deaf Barbie doll equipped with behind-the-ear hearing aids, released as part of the Barbie Fashionistas line of diverse dolls and featured in the promotional campaign. She also helped to mentor Unify, an all-deaf sign performance group who use British Sign Language (BSL), for a special concert for the King’s coronation.
In 2023, she made her West End debut in the Shakespearean romantic comedy As You Like It at Soho Place and was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance.
Rose and Giovanni formed a close friendship while competing on Strictly but it seems that pair have drifted apart. In the wake of Gio's 2023 Strictly partner Amanda Abbington branding him "nasty", some fans expected Rose to leap to his defence.
But she's remained quiet amidst the reported investigations into his alleged misconduct behind the scenes of the BBC show. It seems Giovanni has copied this silence with her in the public eye too.
According to a recent source, Rose is "trying not to get involved" in the drama and is refusing to have any say in the matter. A source told: "Rose is finding the whole situation really tough. She had a really great experience with Gio so is really shocked by it all. She of course believes what others are saying but she is just trying to not get involved. She won't be speaking about it publicly."
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