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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Strictly Come Dancing star Tasha Ghouri has hit back at criticism that she has too much dancing experience for the competition.
Before shooting to fame in 2022 as the first ever deaf contestant on Love Island , Ghouri, 26, trained as a dancer at Creative Academy and has since competed at major dance events and performed in music videos.
She was announced as a contestant on the BBC competition, which is due to air its 20th anniversary edition later this month. The programme typically features celebrities with limited dancing experience who are paired up with professionals in order to learn new routines according to the theme of the week.
Some viewers feel that Ghouri’s extensive dance experience will give her an unfair advantage in the competition, but the star has now hit back at those claims.
“When you’re in the studio, the glitterballs and the ballroom floor it’s like a whole new world,” she told The Independent and other media.
“Commercial dance is very different to ballroom dance and latin. I’m still having to strip down and relearn, even walking in cha cha step is weird to me.”
She continued: “Turning your feet out and leading with your hips, I’m having to relearn muscle memory so that’s the hard part. Even letting a man take the lead is a lot.”
The star, who is from Thirsk in North Yorkshire, was born deaf and initially fitted for hearing aids before receiving a single cochlear implant just before her fifth birthday. The device assists with hearing by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve.
Ghouri cites dancer Rose Ayling-Ellis, Strictly’s first ever deaf contestant, as a personal inspiration. Ayling-Ellis won the show in 2019 alongside professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, who has since been axed.
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“I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it’s a firm Ghouri family favourite – so this is a total dream come true,” Ghouri told the BBC when the lineup was announced. “I know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dancefloor.”
In a follow-up post on her Instagram, she explained that her passion for dance began after realising she could “feel the bass and vibrations through my body by the huge floor-standing speakers in our family home”.
The series has been plagued by controversy after Pernice and fellow professional Graziano Di Prima were axed following allegations about their training methods.
The BBC has conducted an internal investigation, the conclusions of which are due to be announced in the near future.
