Strictly Come Dancing has announced a second EastEnders star for the 2021 cast.
The BBC confirmed Thursday night (August 12) that Rose Ayling-Ellis – who plays Mick Carter's daughter Frankie Lewis in the soap – is the 12th celebrity to join the cast this year.
Ayling-Ellis will make history on Strictly Come Dancing by bringing long-awaited representation for the deaf community on the BBC dancing series.
"To be the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing is sooooo exciting... and a little bit scary," she said. "It is the hardest secret I have ever had to keep so it feels amazing to finally have this out in the open!
"I hope I will do the deaf community proud and break down more barriers. But I am also very excited to learn an incredible new skill and even better I get to learn whilst wearing beautiful dresses made especially for me!”
She also wrote on Instagram: "If you had told me one year ago that I would be on Strictly Come Dancing, I would have laughed in your face! I am still pinching myself, it doesn't seem real. I am so, so, so, so excited to be a part of Strictly family this year and I cannot wait to meet everyone else 💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏻💃🏻🕺🏻
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"Bring on the glitter, the glam and the magic of Strictly and I promise I will try my very, very best!"
The actress is the second EastEnders figure of the day to be announced for this year's Strictly, after former cast member Nina Wadia – who played Zainab Masood – was also unveiled.
The soaps will be well represented this year because this week has also seen Katie McGlynn joining the cast. McGlynn famously played Sinead in Coronation Street and has recently joined Hollyoaks for a conspiracy theory storyline.
For a full rundown of this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up and everything else you need to know about the series, click here.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One. It's due to return later in 2021.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
