Rose Ayling-Ellis, who played Frankie Lewis in EastEnders, became a household name after winning Strictly Come Dancing as the show’s first deaf contestant. Fresh from presenting the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, now she is breaking more ground in a fascinating lead role: a deaf canteen worker whose lip-reading skills draw her into a high-stakes police investigation.
In the programme, Rose Ayling-Ellis (EastEnders) will be introducing British Sign Language to the residents of Hughenden Gardens Retirement Village. Made with help from experts, the show will feature students as old as 95. They will learn alongside small children, which whom they’ll exchange notes on what scares and inspires them. The pensioners will also experience a Deaf Rave, all the while Rose works to expose the lack of provision for deaf people beyond a certain age.
Rose Ayling-Ellis made history by becoming the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, further spotlighting the deaf community when she went on to win the competition.
Ayling-Ellis won the dancing competition during her stint as Frankie Lewis in EastEnders, the first ever deaf character in the soap. She also helped launch a deaf Barbie doll late last year.
She is now getting back to work on the small screen. Code of Silence follows Alison (Ayling-Ellis), who is struggling to get by working in a police canteen and a local bar whilst caring for her mother, who is also hearing-impaired.
