Strictly Come Dancing winners Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice have taken home a BAFTA TV Award for their stunning silent dance on Strictly Come Dancing. The pair, who lifted the Glitterball trophy in 2021 after a series of wonderful performances on the show, were awarded must-see moment of the year at the annual awards.
EastEnders actress Rose, 27, was the first deaf contestant to have ever appeared on Strictly alongside partner Giovanni. The performance that won them the BAFTA saw them dance an enchanting silent routine to Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson's song Symphony.
In the middle of the performance, the music came to an abrupt pause as they continued dancing, which offered viewers an insight as to what it was like for Rose to dance while not being able to hear the music. Appearing on stage on Sunday to collect the award, Rose said: "It is a very special moment for us because hopefully it showed how powerful TV can be, where it has actually introduced changes. It has even helped the BSL (British Sign Language) law be passed recently.
"It made people stand up more for sign language, and just a better deaf awareness and positiveness towards people. We have still got a long way to go but it is such a great start. We are so, so, so proud of it." Giovanni added: "When we first thought of the idea to put silence into the dance, we knew it was going to give an impact, but this went bigger than what we thought."
When they first performed the dance on the show last year viewers were left in tears, and Giovanni said the silent dance with Rose is a routine that will remain in his heart forever. Posting a picture of them together back last year, Giovanni said: “A moment that will remain forever in my heart️. You really are a ROLE MODEL."
After winning the show in December, Giovanni said it was "incredible" to lift the glitterball trophy with his amazing partner. He said: "I have to say, thank you to this beautiful, young lady that made all my dreams come true."
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