Rose and Giovanni’s Strictly ‘silent dance’ wins ‘Moment of the Year’ at Broadcast Awards

Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice’s ‘silent dance’ on Strictly Come Dancing has been crowned ‘Moment of the Year’ at this year’s Broadcast Awards.

The EastEnders actress, who went on to win the competition in December, moved audiences to tears with the routine which she said was “for the Deaf community”.

“It was a special moment for me, because of a lot of times you always see a Deaf person getting along well and doing what is normal, but you don’t see how much hard work goes behind it.

“The silent moment was to show this is what I do when I dance, this is the amount of work I do, but I still do it with a smile on my face.

“So I think that’s my message and that’s what a lot of Deaf people go through,” she told ITV’s This Morning in November.

The category featured tough competition, with Piers Morgan’s storming off the Good Morning Britain set, Netflix’s hit series Squid Game and Adele’s reunion with her former English teacher all making the shortlist.

However, it was Strictly Come Dancing which took home the award at a ceremony in London on Thursday night.

Responding to the news on Instagram, Rose – who is currently performing with Giovanni in Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour – wrote: “Thank you! This is so exciting.”

Giovanni added: “Another incredible achievement for us […] and our incredible [Strictly] family! We love you.”

Rose and Giovanni’s Strictly moment wasn’t the only Deaf talent recognised by the Broadcast Awards, with an episode of Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On which starred Sophie Stone being nominated in the Best Daytime Programme category.

The episode was created and written by The Limping Chicken‘s editor, Charlie Swinbourne, and co-starred Adam Bassett and Caroline Parker.

Photo: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.