There was cause for celebration for Strictly Come Dancing duo Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice at Sunday’s BAFTA Television Awards, which took place at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
The dancing duo snagged the award for Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment for their silent dance on Strictly, with Rochelle Humes using British Sign Language (BSL) as she presented the award.
27-year-old Rose, who has been deaf since birth, explained her hopes that the dance can show ‘how powerful TV can be’ as she took to the stage to accept the award, sharing the difference that it has already made to the deaf community.
Congrats! Strictly’s Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice accepted the Must-See Moment award at Sunday’s Bafta Television awards
Presenting the award was Clara Amfo and Rochelle, as the latter used BSL to announce that it was Rose and Giovanni who had won.
The Strictly winners then took to the stage to accept the award with a BSL interpreter beside them, as Rose explained: ‘It’s 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 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’, she continued.
Announcement: Rochelle Humes and Clara Amfo presented the award, during which Rochelle used British Sign Language to announce the winner
BSL: Clara announced the winner while Rochelle signed what she was saying next to her, before an interpreter joined the stage for Rose and Giovanni
Proud: The pair took to the red carpet after the win to pose with their newly attained BAFTA trophy – as Giovanni wrapped an arm around date for the evening
Giovanni, who won the Glitterball trophy alongside Rose in 2021, 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.’
The pair won the BAFTA award for their dance to Clean Bandit’s Symphony while appearing on the show, during which they cut out the music and danced in silence for a portion of the performance.
Rose dedicated the dance to the deaf community – with the silence giving viewers an insight into what it was like to be Rose and not hear the music.
Special: The Strictly winners took the stage to accept the award with a BSL interpreter beside them, as Rose explained: ‘It’s a very special moment for us because hopefully it showed how powerful TV can be, where it has actually introduced changes’
Impactful: Giovanni, who won the Glitterball trophy alongside Rose in 2021, 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’
Other nominees for the award included Squid Game’s Red Light, Green Light game scene, It’s A Sin Colin’s devastating AIDS diagnosis and a sweet moment during An Audience With Adele.
Dressed to impress for the winning moment, Rose donned a gorgeous black gown with a draping high neck and a sleeveless design.
Her light brown tresses were gathered in a low bun, as some were left to frame her face.
Silence: The pair won the award for their dance to Clean Bandit’s Symphony while appearing on the show, during which they cut out the music and danced in silence for a portion of the performance
Poignant: Rose dedicated the dance to the deaf community – with the silence giving viewers an insight into what it was like to be Rose and not hear the music
Giovanni looked dapper in a velvet suit jacket and black tailored trousers, adding a crisp white shirt, waistcoat and a black bow tie to his ensemble.
The pair took to the red carpet after the win to pose with their newly attained BAFTA trophy – as Giovanni wrapped an arm around his date for the evening.
And it seems fans were happy with the result too, taking to Twitter to display their delight at the win.
One described the moment as ‘one of the best things i’ve seen in an award show’, while another said they were ‘thrilled’ for the pair.
Pleased: And it seems fans were happy with the result too, taking to Twitter to display their delight at the win
Gorgeous: Dressed to impress for the winning moment, Rose donned a gorgeous black gown with a draping high neck and a sleeveless design
Suave: Giovanni looked dapper in a white suit, as the pair cut a playful figure after winning the award
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk