Strictly Come Dancing's first deaf contestant Rose Ayling-Ellis puts success with partner Giovanni Pernice partly down to his Italian mannerisms
Strictly's first deaf contestant has brought fans to tears with her exquisite dancing.
And now Rose Ayling-Ellis has revealed that the secret to her success with dance partner Giovanni Pernice is partly down to his Italian mannerisms.
The 26-year-old EastEnders actress, who is profoundly deaf, said his ‘expressive’ and ‘direct’ approach makes it easy to communicate directly with him, rather than through an interpreter.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Miss Ayling-Ellis said: ‘The reason why I wanted [Giovanni] is because, in the deaf culture we all know that Italians are the most expressive people... they are very open and very direct.
![Rose Ayling-Ellis, 26, has stunned viewers with her brilliant performances on Strictly Come Dancing this year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230525-10097479-Rose_Ayling_Ellis_26_has_stunned_viewers_with_her_brilliant_perf-a-10_1634344481528.jpg)
Rose Ayling-Ellis, 26, has stunned viewers with her brilliant performances on Strictly Come Dancing this year
![The young EastEnders actress is the first deaf contestant and has brought fans to tears with her exquisite dancing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230533-10097479-The_young_EastEnders_actress_is_the_first_deaf_contestant_and_ha-a-11_1634344481544.jpg)
The young EastEnders actress is the first deaf contestant and has brought fans to tears with her exquisite dancing
‘That’s what I wanted and I think it works really well because people in deaf culture are very blunt, so he tells me directly what it is rather than waffle, or try and talk politely around things.
‘He says, “This is wrong, do it better” and then it’s easier for me to do it correctly because it’s clearer for me to understand him.’ She added: ‘You know some people are, “Oh a deaf person, I’ll have to be very careful and delicate around them [as] they are so vulnerable”, but he’s not like that, he’s strict.’
Pernice, who joined Strictly in 2015, said he doesn’t give Miss Ayling-Ellis special treatment. He said: ‘It’s just a normal person who can’t hear, not different to anybody else or any other person.
‘I’m here to teach her to dance, [Rose is] here to learn how to dance and that’s the point of the show, it doesn’t matter if you’re deaf, if you’re blind or anything like that.’
![Pernice, 31, said he had never met a deaf person before Miss Ayling-Ellis but said she was the ‘partner I wanted from the beginning’](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49231689-10097479-Pernice_31_said_he_had_never_met_a_deaf_person_before_Miss_Aylin-a-12_1634344481545.jpg)
Pernice, 31, said he had never met a deaf person before Miss Ayling-Ellis but said she was the ‘partner I wanted from the beginning’
![Rose Ayling-Ellis, Giovanni Pernice during BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230553-10097479-Rose_Ayling_Ellis_Giovanni_Pernice_during_BBC_One_s_Strictly_Com-a-13_1634344481546.jpg)
![The 26-year-old EastEnders actress, who is profoundly deaf, said her dance partner's ‘expressive’ and ‘direct’ approach makes it easy to communicate directly with him, rather than through an interpreter](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230537-10097479-The_26_year_old_EastEnders_actress_who_is_profoundly_deaf_said_h-a-14_1634344481547.jpg)
Rose Ayling-Ellis, Giovanni Pernice during BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing 2021. The 26-year-old EastEnders actress, who is profoundly deaf, said her dance partner's ‘expressive’ and ‘direct’ approach makes it easy to communicate directly with him, rather than through an interpreter
![The pair have gone from strength to strength each week, finishing third last week with 36 points for their Titanic-inspired foxtrot](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49231691-10097479-The_pair_have_gone_from_strength_to_strength_each_week_finishing-a-15_1634344481548.jpg)
The pair have gone from strength to strength each week, finishing third last week with 36 points for their Titanic-inspired foxtrot
![In the second episode of the show Miss Ayling-Ellis and Pernice opted for some tropical outfits to wow the judges](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230579-10097479-In_the_second_episode_of_the_show_Miss_Ayling_Ellis_and_Pernice_-a-16_1634344481550.jpg)
In the second episode of the show Miss Ayling-Ellis and Pernice opted for some tropical outfits to wow the judges
![The duo arrived separately at the Strictly It Takes Two studio earlier this week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230607-10097479-The_duo_arrived_separately_at_the_Strictly_It_Takes_Two_studio_e-a-17_1634344481551.jpg)
![Pernice, who joined Strictly in 2015, said he doesn’t give Miss Ayling-Ellis special treatment. He said: ‘It’s just a normal person who can’t hear, not different to anybody else or any other person](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/10/16/01/49230605-10097479-Pernice_who_joined_Strictly_in_2015_said_he_doesn_t_give_Miss_Ay-a-18_1634344481553.jpg)
The duo arrived separately at the Strictly It Takes Two studio earlier this week. Pernice, who joined Strictly in 2015, said he doesn’t give Miss Ayling-Ellis special treatment. He said: ‘It’s just a normal person who can’t hear, not different to anybody else or any other person
Pernice, 31, said he had never met a deaf person before Miss Ayling-Ellis but said she was the ‘partner I wanted from the beginning’. He said: ‘Having a deaf person on the show is history-making. It’s a challenge, I’m not gonna lie, a different, difficult thing to do, but because I’ve been on the show for so long I wanted a challenge. I want something different.
‘Obviously I didn’t choose to be partnered with her but I went to production and said I would love to do it, and then they gave me the opportunity to do it.’
The pair have gone from strength to strength each week, finishing third last week with 36 points for their Titanic-inspired foxtrot.
The actress previously said she can pick up the beat and some of the music with the help of a hearing aid. She also said she can feel the vibrations, which resonate through the Strictly dance floor, and stays in time by counting and watching her partner.
During training sessions, Pernice said he squeezes her hand to remind her to get into the correct positions but they decided not to do this during live shows because they didn’t want viewers to see. And to ensure that he can communicate well with his partner, Pernice has learnt ‘a lot of’ British Sign Language words including ‘again’, ‘horrible’, ‘judges’ and ‘costumes’.
He likened learning sign language to learning English when he moved to the UK. ‘When I came to this country I didn’t speak English, and I knew this was going to be a big thing, I have to learn English.
‘[It was] the same thing with Rose... when you need something, you learn it, it’s normal.’
Miss Ayling-Ellis, who last year became the first deaf actress to play a deaf character in EastEnders, said she hopes being on Strictly will spread more awareness and emphasise the importance of representation on TV.
She said she has received ‘so many messages’ from young children who say watching her on the dance floor ‘shows us we can do what we want’.
Miss Ayling-Ellis and Pernice will perform the cha cha cha tomorrow night when Strictly returns to BBC1 at 7.10pm.
Most watched News videos
- Paedophile arrested after he's caught sending explicit images to kids
- David Axelrod weighs in on Kamala Harris' CNN interview
- Scene after boulder comes crashing down at a cafe in Kensington
- Scene after man in wheelchair is stabbed to death in Clapton
- CCTV shows moment stalker approaches Holly Newton before stabbing her
- Barcelona Police skits reveal tricks employed by pickpockets
- Moment vigilante pickpocket hunter 'exposes criminals' in London
- Police and fire crews on site after road accident kills three in Wales
- Trump reveals how he will vote on Florida 6-week abortion ban
- Trump weighs in on Kamala's long-awaited first interview
- The bloody battle for the hill Putin's desperate to capture
- 'We are dying, can you help us please?' Migrant's desperate 999 call
She is amazing, doing so well. Giovanni is doing ...
by Shirltgewhirl 601