Which celebrity was the 2021 winner of the British TV dance show 'Strictly Come Dancing'?

Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis (born 1994) overcame barriers to become the winner of the nineteenth series of the BBC competition show 'Strictly Come Dancing' in December 2021. Deaf since birth, Ayling-Ellis proved that deaf people can dance even if they cannot hear the music. She and her professional partner, Giovanni Pernice (born 1990), defeated 14 other couples to lift the Glitter Ball Trophy.

Ayling-Ellis's first role as an actress was in a short film called 'The End' directed by deaf filmmaker Ted Evans. She also appeared in episodes of 'Summer of Rockets' and 'Casualty', before landing the role of Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera 'EastEnders'.

In 2021, Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf contestant on 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Ayling-Ellis and Pernice scored the earliest full marks (40) in week six of the competition but performed their most dramatic dance in week eight, which featured a period of silence as a tribute to the deaf community. The dance left the judges in tears, with one judge Anton Du Beke saying it was "the greatest thing I've ever seen on the show." It also won them the '2021 Heat Unmissables Award for TV Moment of the Year'.