Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis reveals what key moment with Giovanni Pernice she ‘hated’

Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis has revealed she ‘hated’ an emotional moment with Giovanni Pernice on the show.

The 29-year-old EastEnders star brought viewers to tears in 2021 when she and her 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 Symphony in tribute to the deaf community.

As part of their contemporary routine, they danced for 30 seconds completely without music.

The dance was so moving that it was awarded the ‘Moment of the Year’ prize at the BAFTAs.

Rose, who is a British Sign Language (BSL) user, and the Italian star danced to the song Symphony by Clean Bandit 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 nearly three years later, Rose said in an interview with The guard that she was against the idea when it was first proposed.

She explained that she felt like she was trying to gain sympathy in a cheap way and didn’t want it to be seen as tokenistic.

Speaking to The Guardian , the actress said: ‘I hated it. I watched this pre-recorded video from outside choreographers and I immediately didn’t like what they had come up with.

“I was open to the idea, as long as it didn’t become a patronizing stunt.”

She added that she felt it was a distorted representation of what deaf people experience, explaining: ‘It was what hearing people think deaf people experience,’

‘Very insular, closed off, small. It was so sad. And that’s not me.’

Instead, she felt the routine should be “energetic, lively and full of life,” and the couple decided to dance to the song Symphony.

According to Rose, she knew this moment would be considered a “big deal” and she was right: 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 proposed (pictured in 2022)

According to Rose, she realised this 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 like she was making a cheap attempt at sympathy and didn’t want it to be seen as tokenistic, so she worked with the producers to change it.

In addition to her work as an actress, Rose has also appeared in documentaries and is committed to better BSL education.

Her impact on her partner Giovanni led to him using sign language interpreters for his live shows outside of Strictly when he toured the country.

Giovanni left the show this year after nine years after his 2023 partner Amanda Abbington filed an official complaint against him.

Amanda accused the dancer of “bullying” which became “completely unworkable” in the five weeks she trained with him before quitting the show.

The BBC has since launched an investigation into his behaviour in the training room, but Rose has never spoken publicly about the allegations against him.

Before the results of the investigation are released, Giovanni announced this weekend that he will now join the Italian version of the series, as he puts the allegations behind him.

Rose’s confession comes after Tasha Ghouri broke her silence on the scandal.

Giovanni’s ex-girlfriend Tasha gave her opinion on Sunday ahead of her appearance on the show, which airs later this month.

Giovanni’s ex-flame Tasha Ghouri broke her silence on the Strictly Come Dancing scandal on Sunday, ahead of her appearance on the show which starts later this month

It’s been a tough year for Giovanni, who was fired 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-sacked professional, 34, for around six months before she shot to fame on the ITV dating show.

Tasha has told it now The sun of the scandal: ‘I wasn’t there – I’m here for my own experience on the show. So I’m just focusing on myself to just really enjoy it.’

She added about her old romance with Giovanni: ‘I met him a few times. But that was years ago. We’re not in touch now, it’s like ancient history. I’m so happy with Andrew, and he’s my future, so I don’t want to talk about the past.

It is not for me to comment on [the allegations against Giovanni]. I’m here for my own experiences. I’m here just for myself.’

Tasha also said she received advice from former show winner Rose, who was also born deaf and was partnered with Giovanni.