Rose Ayling-Ellis has revealed her first project since quitting EastEnders.
The Strictly Come Dancing winner has opened up about her upcoming new TV project, following her decision to exit the BBC One soap. She has filmed her final scenes as Frankie on EastEnders, and they will air soon.
Rose has been rumoured to be starring in the upcoming series of Doctor Who, with fans convinced she would be the next companion alongside the brand new Doctor played by Ncuti Gatwa, but now she has unveiled her next project in the coming months. She is working on a comedy-drama about deaf women dating in London.
Speaking to Deadline about her new project, she said: "This is something that hasn’t been spoken about.
"We hear a lot about being female and how women appear in the dating scene but as a deaf woman, it’s a very different experience. It will be nice to share that story."
She added: "There are so many different people in the show and I can’t speak on behalf of their experiences so I wanted a team that could put it all together. I won’t exactly be going to the countryside to spend months writing this."
She revealed the new series is inspired by the likes of Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love as inspirations, as she shared her excitement about the upcoming series.
Rose previously explained how she didn't watch Strictly before because of the "poor" subtitles.
"Every job I have been given, I have always been the only deaf person and it always comes with its challenges and issues. I knew a big part of why Strictly approached me because I am deaf," she said in her Alternative Mactaggart speech.
"I am an actress, so doing a reality show was something I hadn’t previously considered, however I could see that the opportunity was huge and turning it down felt wrong. Saying ‘no’ is a privilege most people take for granted, I knew I would be the first deaf dancer and saying ‘no’ to that felt wrong. This was a big platform, I knew how popular Strictly was, so, in the end I said yes - I would do it for the deaf community. Little did I know how magical and beautiful it would also be for me personally.
She added: "The first thing Strictly did was set up a meeting on Zoom to get to know me and they learnt very quickly, as you likely have today, that I don’t have a filter. One of the first things they asked me was if I watch the show; I told them no, simply because I couldn’t – it was not accessible to me. The live subtitles were too slow, leaving me always a step behind and excluded from the jokes – even on iPlayer the subtitles had not been corrected."
Rose admitted she wouldn't have joined the show, if it wasn't for the BBC making things more accessible for people like her.
"I told them from the start exactly what I needed and that if I was going to be a part of the show, it was vital my deaf culture and identity was part of it too," she added, "I wanted my deafness to be present, but not overly emotional or inspirational."
