The EastEnders<\/a> star delivered the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival and admitted that she \u201cdidn\u2019t get excited straight away\u201d when asking to take part in the dancing competition.<\/p>\n \u201cI had become very wary of the industry,\u201d she admitted. \u201cEvery job I have been given, I have always been the only deaf person and it always comes with its challenges and issues. I knew a big part of why Strictly approached me was because I am deaf.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayling-Ellis added that she hadn\u2019t previously considered \u201cdoing a reality show\u201d but that \u201cthe opportunity was huge and turning it down felt wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cSaying \u2018no\u2019 is a privilege most people take for granted, I knew I would be the first deaf dancer and saying \u2018no\u2019 to that felt wrong,\u201d she explained. \u201cThis was a big platform, I knew how popular Strictly was, so, in the end I said yes \u2013 I would do it for the deaf community. Little did I know how magical and beautiful it would also be for me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayling-Ellis went on to reveal that she told Strictly producers during an initial meeting that she had never watched the series before because it was \u201cnot accessible\u201d to her. \u201cThe live subtitles were too slow, leaving me always a step behind and excluded from the jokes \u2013 even on iPlayer the subtitles had not been corrected\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI told them from the start exactly what I needed and that if I was going to be a part of the show, it was vital my deaf culture and identity was part of it too. I wanted my deafness to be present, but not overly emotional or inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Ayling-Ellis, the Strictly team then introduced a number of major changes to the show off the back of her requests. \u201cIncredibly quickly, the team came back to me to say they had amended the live subtitles, as well as the\u00a0subtitles on iPlayer and they said they had also added audio description for blind viewers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to this, they set up deaf awareness training for everybody on and behind the screen and brought in a knowledgeable deaf person to provide consultancy, rather than burdening me with this responsibility. By putting this in place Strictly made me feel heard; it was the most inclusive and supportive job I have ever had, and it has had a profound and lasting impact.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring my time on the show, I was supported to be 100 per cent myself because the team adapted and allowed me to be, for the first time ever, Rose \u2013 not just a deaf person. So, to everyone on the team who played a part in making my experience so inclusive, I would like to say a big thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Best known for her role as Frankie Lewis in EastEnders, Ayling-Ellis went on to win the 19th series of Strictly alongside her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.<\/p>\n Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One in the autumn.<\/p> Read more coverage from the Edinburgh International TV Festival 2022:<\/strong><\/p>\n Find something to watch with our\u00a0<\/strong>TV Guide<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or visit our\u00a0<\/strong>Entertainment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0hub for all the latest news.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0<\/strong>Radio Times podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Morgan Jeffery Published: Friday, 26 August 2022 at 12:00 am Rose Ayling-Ellis has described Strictly Come Dancing as \u201cthe most inclusive and supportive job\u201d in her career, after she was initially \u201cwary\u201d of appearing on the BBC series. The EastEnders star delivered the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20947,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/rose-ayling-ellis-wary-of-doing-strictly-asked-for-accessibility-changes.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Morgan Jeffery Published: Friday, 26 August 2022 at 12:00 am Rose Ayling-Ellis has described Strictly Come Dancing as \u201cthe most inclusive and supportive job\u201d in her career, after she was initially \u201cwary\u201d of appearing on the BBC series. The EastEnders star delivered the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival and…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20946"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/23874680-high_res-strictly-come-dancing-2021-43331ba.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"