Rose And Giovanni’s Silent Dance Wins BAFTA’s Must-See Moment

The pair's Strictly dance, paying tribute to the deaf community, was voted the public's favourite TV moment

Strictly Come Dancing

by Hanna Woodside |
Updated on

Who can forget the incredible dance that Eastenders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and dancer Giovanni Pernice performed on Strictly Come Dancing last year? The pair started the dance to Symphony by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson - but, halfway through, the music stopped so they could dance in silence.

Rose was the first deaf contestant to compete on Strictly, and it was one of the most powerful dances on Strictly. So it's no surprise that it won the Virgin Media Must-See Moment at the BAFTA TV Awards, the only award voted for by the public.

Speaking on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Rose said: '‘The dance that we did together was such a special dance. It’s not just a dance, it’s so much more.' Rose's performance on the series sparked a rise in people learning British Sign Language. 'It increased people signing up to learn sign language by 4000%’, Rose added.

Rose & Giovanni at the BAFTA TV Awards
©Getty Images

Accepting 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.'

The 27-year-old actress, who has been deaf since birth, has campaigned for BSL to be recognised as an official language and be given legal status in the UK. In April, a Bill was passed in the House of Lords to legally recognise BSL as an official language in England, Wales and Scotland.

Backstage, in the winners' press conference, Giovanni explained: 'When I first choreographed the silent moment, I knew it was going to be a big moment. But as Rose said this moment has changed people's lives [...] It has made me realise that we were all need to make an effort to make everyone feel more included.'

Rose added that she is determined to continue raising awareness and advocating for the deaf community: ‘I want to carry on making impact because I feel that my work is not done - there's so much more we can do.'

Gallery

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Olivia Coleman BAFTA TV AWARDS 20221 of 36

Olivia Coleman wearing Alexander McQueen and Cartier jewellery

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Jodie Comer wears BOSS

Omari Douglas, Olly Alexander and Callum Scott Howells BAFTA TV AWARDS3 of 36

Omari Douglas and Callum Scott Howells wearing Valentino with Olly Alexander.

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Nicola Coughlan wears Valentino Haute Couture and Messika jewellery

Ncuti Gatwa BAFTA TV AWARDS5 of 36

Ncuti Gatwa in Orange Culture and Blue Burnham jewellery

Aisling Bea BAFTA TV AWARDS6 of 36

Aisling Bea

Jessica Plummer BAFTA TV AWARDS7 of 36

Jessica Plummer in Emporio Armani and Louboutin

Lydia West in Valentino  BAFTA TV AWADS 20228 of 36

Lydia West in Valentino

Rochelle and Marvin Humes BAFTA TV AWARDS9 of 36

Rochelle and Marvin Humes

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Vick Hope wearing TASAKI jewellery

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Sheila Atim wears TASAKI jewellery

Bimini Bon-Boulash BAFTA TV AWARDS12 of 36

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Joe Locke BAFTA TV AWARDS13 of 36

Joe Locke wears Ami suit and Swarovski jewellery

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Aimee Lou Wood

Nathaniel Curtis BAFTA TV AWARDS15 of 36

Nathaniel Curtis wearing Emporio Armani

Denise Gough BAFTA TV AWARDS16 of 36

Denise Gough

Tom Daley BAFTA TV AWARDS17 of 36

Tom Daley

Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright  BAFTA TV AWARDS18 of 36

Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright

Lawrence Chaney BAFTA TV AWARDS19 of 36

Lawrence Chaney

Katie Piper BAFTA TV AWARDS20 of 36

Katie Piper

Allison Hammond BAFTA TV AWARDS21 of 36

Allison Hammond

Lorraine Kelly BAFTA TV AWARDS22 of 36

Lorraine Kelly

Munya Chawawa  BAFTA TV AWARDS23 of 36

Munya Chawawa

BAFTA TV AWARDS Tanya Moodie24 of 36

Tanya Moodie

BAFTA TV AWARDS Emily Watson25 of 36

Emily Watson

BAFTA TV AWARDS Charlotte Hawkins26 of 36

Charlotte Hawkins

BAFTA TV AWARDSBenjamin Zephaniah27 of 36

Benjamin Zephaniah

BAFTA TV AWARDS Ashley Roberts28 of 36

Ashley Roberts

BAFTA TV AWARDS Niamh Algarattends29 of 36

Niamh Algarattends

BAFTA TV AWARDS Eleanor Tomlinson30 of 36

Eleanor Tomlinson

BAFTA TV AWARDS Giles Terera31 of 36

Giles Terera

Rose Ayling-Ellis BAFTA TV AWARDS32 of 36

Rose Ayling-Ellis

Camille Cottin BAFTA TV AWARDS33 of 36

Camille Cottin

Danielle Marcan  BAFTA TV AWARDS34 of 36

Danielle Marcan

Jo Hartley BAFTA TV AWARDS 202235 of 36

Jo Hartley

Olly Alexander BAFTA TV AWARDS36 of 36

Olly Alexander

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