Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis posted a sweet message to EastEnders fans as she attended the National Television Awards 2022 last night (Thursday, October 13).
Taking to Instagram, she shared a montage of images with the cast of EastEnders, as well as her Strictly Come Dancing co-stars where she also reunited with her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
The caption read: "From attending @officialntas last year to going this year made me realise lots has happened in the last 12 months. Forever grateful for @bbceastenders and @bbcstrictly 💕💕
"But I have to say the love and the support I got from my fans, as well as the new friends I made along the way, has been so special and I appreciate every single one of you, I promise.
"Cheesy post done! By the way, meeting these England footballer was the highlight of my night! 🤩 Now I better tell you where I got my looks from…"
Strictly Come Dancing won the National Television Award for Best Talent Show during the ceremony, with last year's champions Rose and Giovanni accepting the award on-stage. At the end of the speech, the Strictly cast thanked everyone in sign language.
Rose’s Strictly win made history as she was the first-ever deaf contestant to take part in the show and both her and Giovanni's close friendship has delighted fans ever since they won the competition.
The EastEnders actress left the role of Frankie Lewis after two years in August 2022 after becoming the soap's first regular deaf actor and was nominated for Best Drama Performance at this year's National Television Awards for her acting in EastEnders.
During her time on Strictly, Rose also broke a new record for the 2021 series, as she scored the earliest perfect 40 score in Halloween week with her seamless Tango, with Giovanni revealing that he felt “honored” to be paired up with Rose after their record-breaking score.
Earlier this year, Rose and Giovanni won Virgin Media's Must-See Moment Award for their silent dance to Symphony by Zara Larsson. Their groundbreaking performance saw the pair raise awareness for the deaf community when the music cut and they danced to silence.
Giovanni and his dance partner Richie Anderson were the latest couple to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing 2022 last week.
Strictly Come Dancing next airs on Saturday, October 15 at 6:30 pm.
