Rose Ayling-Ellis, former EastEnders actor and winner of Strictly Come Dancing, will make history in Paris as the first deaf person to cover the Paralympic Games. Ayling-Ellis will host alongside broadcaster Clare Balding as they present live from the Athletes’ village. Their coverage will be completed with live British Sign Language (BSL) signing.
This is not the first milestone that Rose has achieved. Alongside making history in Paris, Rose became the first deaf contestant on Strictly and also appeared on CBeebies, reading a bedtime story in sign language.
In a statement, Ayling-Ellis commented that it’s “really exciting” to become the first deaf person to host live sports coverage on TV, highlighting that the opportunity “helps break down barriers of understanding what we are capable of, though really, we shouldn’t have to prove this to anyone”. Overall, the Paralympics offers a “great opportunity to show people what disabled people can do”.
As she approaches her 30th birthday, Ayling-Ellis reflected on the extensive training she has undertaken to prepare for this role, admitting that she “didn’t fully anticipate the challenges involved.” Nonetheless, this opportunity represents yet another instance in which Ayling-Ellis seeks to challenge herself, with the hope that it will encourage greater understanding and normalisation of disability.
As previously mentioned, this is only one first of many for Rose and simply another job where she can “challenge” herself. Ayling-Ellis hopes that this is an opportunity for “everyone to learn from and understand more about disability and that this is all just normal”.
Indeed, people might ask how, but Rose is going to show people the how.
We wish Rose the best of luck in this new endeavour. Channel 4’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will begin on 28th August with the opening ceremony and will come to a close on September 8th.
