# Rose Ayling-Ellis

Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis MBE (born 17 November 1994) is an English actress. Deaf since birth, she is a British Sign Language user. On television, she is best known for her role as Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2020–2022) and for winning the 19th series of Strictly Come Dancing with Giovanni Pernice in 2021; she was the programme's first deaf contestant.
Also known for her theatre work, she has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award and won The Stage Debut Award. She is the recipient of the Visionary Honours for Inspirational Person of the Year.

## Early life

Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis was born on 17 November 1994, in Hythe, Kent, and grew up there. She was born deaf. She attended the Christ Church, Church of England High School in Ashford, Kent. As a child, she took part in a filming weekend organised by the National Deaf Children's Society. During the weekend, she met deaf film director Ted Evans, who later cast her in his 2011 short film The End, which marked her acting debut. She then joined the Deafinitely Youth Theatre, and concurrently studied fashion design at the University for the Creative Arts graduating in 2016.

## Career
### Acting

Following her debut in The End, Ayling-Ellis appeared in a number of stage productions, including Lyric Hammersmith's Herons Workshop in 2016, Royal Exchange Theatre's Mother Courage in 2019, and London National Theatre's Faith, Hope and Charity in 2019. Her early television credits include the medical drama Casualty (2017) and the period drama Summer of Rockets (2019). She also had a part in the 2017 music video for The Vamps' song "Middle of the Night".
From 2020 to 2022, Ayling-Ellis portrayed Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Her character was originally written by deaf journalist and scriptwriter Charlie Swinbourne, and she made her first appearance on 18 May 2020. Her departure from the series was announced in August 2022, with her final scenes airing on 22 September 2022.
Ayling-Ellis was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards and won The Stage Debut Award for Best West End Debut for her performance in As You Like It at @sohoplace. She is set to appear in a guest role in an episode of the fifteenth series of Doctor Who in 2025. Ayling-Ellis will also star as Alison Woods in the ITV drama series Code of Silence, and Miri in the BBC thriller series Reunion. She is developing a comedy drama about deaf women dating in London, and is attached to executive produce and star as Tuva Moodyson in the crime thriller series Tuva, a television adaptation of Will Dean's novel Dark Pines.

### Other ventures

In 2021, Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf contestant on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. She participated in and won the show's 19th series, with professional Giovanni Pernice. In an interview before the start of the series, she said:
   I have a hearing aid, so I pick up some of the music and I can hear the beat. I can hear someone singing, but I can't identify exact words. I also feel the vibrations.
Ayling-Ellis and Pernice scored 40 (full marks) for their tango in week six, which was the earliest "perfect score" in the show's history. In week eight, their Couple's Choice contemporary dance featured a rumba with an added period of silence as a tribute to the deaf community. Described by judge Anton Du Beke as "the greatest thing I've ever seen on the show", it earned them the 2021 Heat Unmissables Award for TV Moment of the Year. It also won the British Academy Television Award for Virgin TV's Must-See Moment in 2022.
In May 2022, Ayling-Ellis became the first celebrity to sign a bedtime story on CBeebies, telling the tale of Raymond Antrobus's 2020 children's picture book Can Bears Ski?. In August 2022, she unveiled the first deaf Barbie doll equipped with behind-the-ear hearing aids released as part of the Barbie Fashionistas line consisting of a number of diverse dolls. She worked with Mattel during the production of the doll, and featured in the promotional campaign "Rose, Barbie & Friends".
Ayling-Ellis presented the BBC documentary Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change in 2023, and is set to present the upcoming two-part BBC documentary series Signs for Living with Rose Ayling-Ellis. In August 2024, she was announced as a presenter for Channel 4's coverage of the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France. As a result, she became the first deaf person to host live sport coverage on British television.
As announced in June 2024, Ayling-Ellis signed a 10-book deal with DK Children's, including non-fiction, picture books and board books, starting with Rose Knows: The Amazing Story of Communication in 2025.

## Personal life

In an interview with the National Deaf Children's Society, Ayling-Ellis explained that she often has to perform using Sign-supported English (SSE) to reflect her own communication style and make it clear to audiences. Her deafness has not stopped her from enjoying music, and she told The Guardian that her favourite artists are Dolly Parton and Stevie Wonder, and that she is a big fan of soul music. She was in a relationship with Samuel Arnold, who is also deaf, from 2014 until 2022.
Ayling-Ellis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for voluntary services to the deaf community. She was the subject of a 2024 episode of the BBC genealogy programme Who Do You Think You Are? On the programme, she discovered that her fourth great-grandfather, Pasquel Lyons, was born in Italy and likely emigrated to England during the Napoleonic Wars.