Rose Ayling-Ellis says being deaf has given her a purpose but can also feel like a burden

Rose Ayling-Ellis has said that her disability has given her a ‘purpose in life’ and something to aim for. 

The former EastEnders actress, 28, was speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour and admitted she ‘loved being deaf’.

However she also revealed that being one of the only deaf actors on television could at times feel like a burden. 

Rose, who has been deaf since birth, told host Anita Rani: ‘I love being deaf because it’s given me a purpose, it’s given me something to aim for’. 

Before adding: ‘But it can be exhausting sometimes’.

She said that as a lone voice she is forced to ‘be political without wanting to be political’ when it comes to making the work place accessible for deaf artists. 

Proud: The former EastEnders actress was speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour and admitted she ‘loved being deaf’ (Rose pictured in EastEnders) 

Asking if the responsibility can be a burden she replied: ‘Yeah, it can be hard sometimes. But it can be exciting as well, because when it goes right: yes!’.

‘But when it doesn’t, it feels light fighting, sometimes I actually feel like “You know what, I can’t be bothered”.

Rose became the first deaf actor to star in the BBC soap, playing the role of Mick Carter’s long lost daughter Frankie Lewis before exiting the show earlier this year. 

Star turn: Rose was the first deaf actor to star in EastEnders before going on to win last year’s Strictly Come Dancing and stunned audiences with her silent routine (pictured with partner Giovanni Pernice) 

She went on to win last year’s Strictly Come Dancing and stunned audiences with her silent routine. 

It comes after Rose made an appearance on Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show on Thursday and spoke about having her own hearing impaired Barbie in her home. 

The actress posed alongside the new diverse doll Rose, Barbie & Friends posed with the product when she launched it earlier this year.

When asked where she keeps it by Zoe, Rose joked: ‘I’m keeping it on my shelf at the moment but I’m always a bit spooked by it. What if it moves?’  

Soap star Rose, who learnt British sign language (BSL) as a young child, explained how ‘thrilled’ she was by the Barbie doll campaign earlier this year.

She said: ‘It’s so important for children to be able to see themselves represented in the toys they play with.  

‘When I was little, I would draw hearing aids onto my Barbie dolls to make them look like me, so I am thrilled that Mattel is releasing more dolls that encourage kids to celebrate and embrace their differences!’

Barbie have been diversifying their line of dolls to celebrate a broader view of beauty enabling children to play with more dolls that represent themselves in the diverse world.

The brand have brought out other new dolls from Ken doll with vitiligo, new doll with a prosthetic limb and doll with a wheelchair.

Incredible: Rose scored an incredible achievement for the deaf community as she starred in the first ever hearing impaired Barbie doll campaign earlier this year