The universal delight that has greeted Rose Ayling-Ellis’s achievement on Strictly Come Dancing is one of the few glimmers of light in a dark year, as is the accompanying interest in signing for the 100,000 or so people that use it as their first language (‘Why can’t I give it a go?’: How Rose Ayling-Ellis’ Strictly success is inspiring deaf youngsters, 18 December). While we’re thinking about how important such inclusion is, especially for the young, it’s worth remembering the rest of the UK’s deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing population is a hundred times bigger (about 11 million), doesn’t sign and relies heavily on live captions and subtitling, along with clear sound in theatres, cinema, streaming, radio and TV. And because about half of that is age-related loss, if it doesn’t already, it may well include you, soon. Those services are not to be taken for granted, so a seasonal best to everyone who’s in the business of, literally, making every word count.
Richard Lee
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
• Your editorial on diversity in British TV (The Guardian view on British TV drama: a new golden age?, 15 December) reminded me of this year’s semi-finalists on Strictly. Two contenders were a man and a woman of colour from ordinary backgrounds. The third was a gay man taking part with a male partner and the fourth was a woman with profound hearing problems. All four reached the semi-final because they were the best dancers left in the competition. Collectively they served up probably the highest standard of any semi-final since the show started. They were judged on merit.
David Nove
Duffield, Derbyshire
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