Strictly Come Dancing's reigning champion Rose Ayling Ellis has responded to a recent article which compared her to this year's contestant Ellie Simmonds.
Rose, who is deaf, won Strictly last year alongside Giovanni Pernice with many praising how the EastEnders actress overcame her disability to perform and wow the judges. As the winner in 2021 she was the first disabled dancer to lift the Glitterball trophy.
However, the actress has now addressed criticisms that the BBC programme is 'woke' for including disabled contestants and same-sex couples in its line up. The article addressed recent changes made by the BBC to make their Strictly line up more inclusive.
