Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis has revealed she “hated” an emotional moment with Giovanni Pernice on the show.
The EastEnders star, 29, brought viewers to tears in 2021 when she and professional dance partner Giovanni, 34, performed part of their dance routine in silence.
Rose, who uses British Sign Language (BSL), and the Italian star danced to Clean Bandit’s song Symphony as a way to honour the deaf community.
As part of their contemporary routine, they danced for a 30-second segment completely without music.
The dance was so moving that it was celebrated at the BAFTAs with a “moment of the year” award.
Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29, revealed she “hated” an emotional moment with Giovanni Pernice, 34, in a new interview
Rose, who is a user of British Sign Language (BSL), and the Italian star danced to Clean Bandit’s song Symphony as a way to honour the deaf community.
The EastEnders star brought viewers to tears in 2021 when she and her professional dance partner Giovanni performed part of their dance routine in silence.
But almost three years later, Rose admitted in an interview with The Guardian who was against the idea when it was first suggested.
She explained that she felt it had been a cheap means of gaining sympathy and that she did not want it to be perceived as symbolic.
Speaking to The Guardian, the actress said: “I hated it. I watched this pre-recorded video by outside choreographers and I immediately didn’t like what they came up with.”
“I accepted the idea, as long as it wasn’t a patronizing maneuver.”
She added that she felt it was a distorted perception of what deaf people experienced, explaining: “It was what hearing people think deaf people experience.”
“Very insular, isolated, small. It was very sad. And I’m not like that.”
Instead, she thought the routine should be “energetic, vibrant and full of life,” and the couple decided to dance to the song Symphony.
According to Rose, he realized the moment would be considered “a big deal” and he was right, as many considered the routine to be one of the show’s most defining performances in its 20-year history.
But nearly three years later, Rose admitted in an interview with The Guardian that she was against the idea when it was first suggested (pictured in 2022).
According to Rose, she realized the moment would be considered “a big deal” and she was right, as many considered the routine to be one of the most defining performances of the show (pictured with the winning trophy).
Rose explained that she felt it was a cheap way to get sympathy and didn’t want it to be perceived as tokenistic, so she worked with producers to change it.
As well as being an actress, Rose has also appeared in documentaries and is an advocate for better BSL education.
Her impact on her partner Giovanni led him to incorporate sign language interpreters into his live shows outside of Strictly when he toured around the country.
Giovanni left the show this year after nine years following an official complaint filed against him by his 2023 contestant, Amanda Abbington.
Amanda accused the dancer of having an “intimidating” demeanor that became “disastrously unplayable” in the five weeks she trained with him before leaving the show.
The BBC has since launched an investigation into his conduct in the training room, although Rose has never spoken publicly about the allegations against him.
Before the results of the investigation are revealed, Giovanni announced this weekend that he will now be joining the Italian version of the series as he puts the allegations behind him.
Rose’s admission comes after Tasha Ghouri broke her silence on the scandal.
Giovanni’s ex-girlfriend Tasha gave her thoughts on Sunday ahead of his appearance on the show which begins later this month.
Giovanni’s ex-girlfriend Tasha Ghouri broke her silence on the Strictly Come Dancing scandal on Sunday ahead of her appearance on the show which begins later this month.
It’s been a tough year for Giovanni, who was axed from the show after Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington, 50, made a series of allegations about his teaching methods.
The former Love Island star, 26, who was born deaf, dated the now-fired professional, 34, about six months before finding fame on the ITV dating show.
Tasha has now told it The sun of the scandal: “I wasn’t there, I’m here to live my own experience on the show. So I’m focusing on myself to really enjoy it.”
She added about her former romance with Giovanni: ‘I’ve met him a couple of times. But that was years ago. We’re not in touch now, this is like ancient history. I’m very happy with Andrew, and he’s my future, so I don’t want to talk about the past.
“It is not my place to comment on the allegations against Giovanni. I am here because of my own experiences. I am here only for myself.”
Tasha also shared how she received advice from former winner of the show Rose, who was also born deaf and was Giovanni’s partner.