Strictly Come Dancing 2021: A Final Like No Other

Strictly 2021 has crowned its first deaf winner, with the wonderful Rose Ayling-Ellis blowing away audiences. The actor, who is a regular on popular British soap Eastenders, won the dancing competition with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, in a first for the reality show that sees celebrities learn to dance over the course of 13 weeks.

The final

In an incredible finale on every front, Ayling-Ellis went head-to-head with fellow finalist John Whaite, who got his start in the industry by winning The Great British Bake Off. Marking another first, John was partnered with Johannes Radebe in a pioneering same-sex male partnership – we previously enjoyed a female pairing back in 2020 with Katya Jones and Nicola Adams, with the girls undoubtedly paving the way to make this the ‘norm’ on the show.

Following an incredibly close semi-final, the last week of the show saw a rollercoaster of ups and downs, with third finalist television presenter AJ Odudu and her dance partner Kai Widdrington sadly having to bow out of the competition following an injury Odudu sustained at the start of the week.

The dance final drew in an average audience of 11 million people as it was broadcast live on Saturday 18^thDecember. The competition was decided purely on telephone and text votes by the audience, with both couples winning the hearts of the British public.

Rose Ayling-Ellis undoubtedly made her most notable performance with the ‘Couple’s Choice’ dance, which included a section that cut to a single spotlight on the pair, at which point the band stopped playing for 20 seconds. The dance was dedicated to the deaf community and the actress intended to show that it’s still possible to dance, despite having a hearing impairment.

Watch Rose and Giovanni’s three dances from the finale.

The reaction to the final

While we have all absolutely loved watching the dancing throughout this series, perhaps the real winner is all that the contestants have accomplished in empowering their communities by creating visibility in the mainstream on prime time British television.

The BBC reported earlier this month that there has been an influx of people learning British Sign Language (BSL) since Rose Ayling-Ellis has appeared on the show – the enrolments in courses have gone up by more than 2,000%, with huge numbers of people wanting to learn. Explaining the numbers of people signing up since the show’s start in September, Russell Fowler who is the director of online BSL courses explained to the BBC:

“On one Saturday we had over 1,000 and another time we received 778. In August we were averaging around 20 to 30 enrolments a day, but by November, we were receiving an average of 400.”

At the same time, statistics have jumped for the interest in same-sex dance classes thanks to the visibility of John and Johannes’ partnership this season. The 2022 Strictly Come Dancing season has undoubtedly done more for representing the valued members that make up society than many organisations accomplish in years.

Watch John and Johannes three dances from the final episode.

Highlights from the finale

Expressing the feeling of making it all the way to the final, winner Rose Ayling-Ellis said:

“I’ve become more me than I’ve ever been because of Strictly.”

While head judge Shirley Ballas said of Ayling-Ellis when critiquing the actress:

“I know in your heart you did it for the deaf community but for me you did this for every person watching this show.”

Judge Anton Du Beke was consistently teary-eyed throughout the weeks when talking to Rose and giving his feedback, telling the actress during the final:

“I can’t speak, it’s so beautiful. Forgive me for not looking at you or I will cry.”

While Rose Ayling-Ellis marks a triumphant first for the British show, the US adaptation of the show called ‘Dancing With The Stars’ crowned their first deaf winner back in 2016, with the title going to model, actor and deaf activist Nyle DiMarco with partner Peta Murgatroyd. Impressively, the first deaf contestant to appear on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ was back in 2008, with Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin paving the way.

The 2021 season of Strictly Come Dancing has been like no other, both the standard of dancing, and the bigger issues that it has represented. At a time when the show has meant so much to UK audiences and brought such joy in the midst of the pandemic, it’s incredible to appreciate the instant impact that visibility can have. We hope to see more of this in the mainstream, and can’t wait for what the 2022 season may bring.

Also by Michelle Sciarrotta: