Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis has admitted feeling thankful for the support system that helped her find victory on the show.
The EastEnders star bagged the Glitterball Trophy alongside Strictly professional partner Giovanni Pernice after she made history by being the first deaf person to both compete in and win the show.
Rose, 27, has now confessed that she felt lucky to have interpreters and deaf awareness training at her disposal during her stint on the hit BBC dance show.
Speaking to Deaf Talent Collective a consultancy service that “work with British deaf talent” Rose praised them for providing her with vital resources to help her Strictly journey.
(Image: @rose.a.e/Instagram)
She said: “DTC supported me massively on Strictly.
“They provided all my interpreters, they provided my deaf awareness training. They provided all my consultancy – it was amazing.
“It was the first time in a job, where I turn up and everything is there, I just do my job and that’s it.”
The actress then highlighted how important the impact of deaf awareness training was in helping her feel “comfortable.”
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Rose continued: “The fact that people have a basic foundation of deaf awareness, I didn’t have to repeat myself, I didn’t have to teach. Everyone knows already so it became a comfortable environment for me.”
Viewers of Strictly were left stunned when Rose and Giovanni performed their Couple’s Choice to Zara Larsson’s Symphony, cutting the audio for a section of the performance and continuing in silence to raise awareness for and pay tribute to the deaf community.
Rose has since asked MPs to consider making British Sign Language an official language, giving it legal status in the UK.
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
She has also attempted to highlight how the lack of knowledge of BSL poses an issue for the deaf community and for how little respect there is for them.
Rose recently told The Big Issue: “I’m backing it because this is my language. The fact that my country doesn’t see it that way is really sad and means we don’t get the respect we deserve and the language deserves.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
