Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis says 'it can never be taken away' as she candidly shares career 'frustration' - suong

"Normally, when you get a script about lip-reading, it can make you feel a bit on edge. But the fact that this one captured how hard lip-reading is, and how it's like a puzzle, and [showed] how you work it out, really drew me to it."

The former EastEnders star noted that there is still "a lot of prejudice" around and sometimes others wrongly assume she isn't aware what they are saying just because she is deaf.

She said: "There's a lot of prejudice. You're slow because of the environment that you're in. Everyone else is making it slow - it's not yourself.

"That's why I say I love being deaf. There's no problem with being deaf at all. It's my environment that makes it harder for me to be deaf.

"There's a famous saying, 'I'm disabled because the world disabled me. What makes this script and plot so exciting is how Alison plays with that to her advantage. Everyone will assume she's 'just' a deaf girl.

(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

"It happens to me a lot. I have people talking about really uncomfortable situations in front of me, assuming I won't hear them."

Despite her success, the former Strictly Come Dancing winner, who lifted the Glitterball in 2021, is aware that she "doesn't have the privilege" of playing a role that does not centre around being deaf.

She said: "I don't have that privilege. No matter what I do, it's going to be deaf because it's in my accent, my wearing my hearing aid and in the way I communicate. That can never be taken away."

As for Code of Silence, the gripping new six-part crime thriller, which stars on Sunday (May 18) on ITV, sees Rose taking on the ground-breaking lead role, with the show created by Catherine Moulton, who drew on her own experiences with lip-reading and hearing loss,

ITV's synopsis of the series reads: "At the heart of the series is Alison Brooks (Rose Ayling-Ellis), a smart and determined Deaf woman. Having spent years working in a police canteen and secretly observing conversations, her life takes an unexpected turn when her exceptional lip-reading skills catch the attention of DS Ashleigh Francis (Charlotte Ritchie) and DI James Marsh (Andrew Buchan).

"Recruited for a covert operation, Alison is tasked with surveilling a dangerous gang as they plot a high-stakes heist, thrusting her into a world of crime, deception, and risk like never before..."