Strictly winner lands huge new BBC documentary ahead of history-making role on rival channel
STRICTLY Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis will front a two-part BBC documentary series focused on learning sign language.
Titled Signs for Living with Rose Ayling-Ellis, it will see the actress take residents of a retirement village along the challenging journey of taking up British Sign Language.
The former EastEnders actress shared: “I knew filming this show would be a challenge, but what I have experienced teaching the residents sign language has gone beyond my expectations.
“It is an experience I will cherish for a lifetime, and I just can’t wait for viewers to see the series.”
The forthcoming documentary was officially announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
Rose is exploring if British Sign Language has the potential to improve the quality of life in old age.
She also intends to spotlight hearing loss among the older generation and how this impacts an individual’s health and wellbeing.
Viewers will see students as old as 95, including some with arthritis in their hands, signing to each other with help from Deaf tutors working with Rose.
The elderly residents also take part in a Deaf Rave, which allows them experience the power of music in an entirely new way.
When the Deaf Chefs visit, they are moved to tears by the enthusiastic take-up for signing.
It is the actress’ second collaboration with Rogan Productions, following the earlier documentary Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change.
Meanwhile, Rose is also set to make history on a rival channel in the very near future.
She has been named as part of Channel 4‘s presenting team covering the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, joining Clare Balding and a wider team.
In turn, this makes Rose the first deaf live sports presenter on British TV.
Although the Paralympics will begin on August 28, the athletes will not start competing until the following day.
Rose captured the hearts of the nation during her 2021 Strictly Come Dancing stint.
Rose Ayling-Ellis' career so far
Actress and model Rose Ayling-Ellis has enjoyed a whirlwind of success in her career over the past few years. Having been born deaf, she received an MBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours for voluntary services to the deaf community. Here's a look at some of her biggest projects.
- Casualty (2017): Before rising to prominence, she appeared in a single episode of the medical drama as a character named Bianca Sinclair.
- EastEnders (2020-2022): Rose joined the BBC soap as Frankie Lewis, the long-lost daughter of show regular Mick Carter (Danny Dyer). It later transpired that her character was born following a very young Mick being abused by his case worker, Katy Lewis. She departed the show in 2022.
- Strictly Come Dancing (2021): The actress was named as one of the famous faces taking to Strictly’s dance floor in 2021. She was partnered with Giovanni Pernice and the pair went on to win the series.
- Channel 4 Paralympics coverage (2024): Rose made history by being named as one of the presenters for Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage. She became the first deaf live sports presenter on British TV.
She joined the likes of Dan Walker, Sara Davies, Tom Fletcher and AJ Odudu in an all-star celebrity line-up.
Partnered with Giovanni Pernice, the pair were crowned as the winners over Great British Bake Off champ John Whaite and pro partner Johannes Radebe.
At the time, Rose was starring as Frankie Lewis, daughter of Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) in EastEnders.
She left the BBC soap in 2022, after two years playing the role.