HomeTVActress Rose Ayling-Ellis is first deaf contestant for 'Strictly Come Dancing'

Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis is first deaf contestant for ‘Strictly Come Dancing’

‘EastEnders’ actress Rose Ayling-Ellis is the 12thĀ celebrity contestant confirmed for the brand new series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘.

The news was revealed last night (Thursday 12thĀ August) exclusively on the @BBCEastEnders twitter account.Ā 

Ayling-Ellis will be the first deaf contestant to take part in ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

Rose said:Ā ā€œTo be the first deaf contestant on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ is sooooo exciting.. and a little bit scary. It is the hardest secret I have ever had to keep so it feels amazing to finally have this out in the open! I hope I will do the deaf community proud and break down more barriers. But I am also very excited to learn an incredible new skill and even better I get to learn whilst wearing beautiful dresses made especially for me!ā€

Ayling-Ellis is best known for her role in ‘EastEnders’, which she joined in 2020, playing Frankie Lewis. She is the first ever deaf actor to play a deaf character on the soap.

Ayling-Ellis has previously appeared in various stage productions, and her other TV credits include ‘Summer of Rockets’ and ‘Casualty’.Ā  She use British Sign Language (BSL).

While this may be a first for ‘Strictly’, in the US actor and model Nyle DiMarco, who is deaf, participated in the US version, ‘Dancing With The Stars’, where he won the show in 2016.

Ayling-Ellis joins McFlyā€™s Tom Fletcher, TV presenter AJ Odudu, comedian Robert Webb,Ā chef John Whaite,Ā childrenā€™s presenter Rhys Stephenson,Ā ā€œDragonā€™s Denā€ star Sara Davies MBE,Ā actress Katie McGlynn,Ā chef Tilly Ramsay, actor Greg Wise and actress Nina Wadia OBE in this year’s line-up.

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ returns to BBC One this autumn.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

Must Read

Advertisement