Rose Ayling-Ellis is well-known for appearing on the likes of EastEnders as well as winning Strictly Come Dancing with partner Giovanni Pernice last year.
However away from the screen, the 27-year-old has been campaigning for more to be done when it comes to the deaf community in a bid to ensure they are not excluded.
Speaking during the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the actress opened up about the challenges those who cannot hear face, urging TV channels to "fix their problem" and subtitle every show. It comes as the actress announced earlier this month she would be leaving her role as in EastEnders.
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Ayling-Ellis has said in the past that being deaf is her "proudest identity" however the responsibility of often being the first deaf person cast in a show can feel like a “blessing but it can also be a curse”.
The actress, who rose to fame as Frankie Lewis in BBC's EastEnders, went on to become the first deaf contestant to take part in and win Strictly Come Dancing. However she admitted that at times she feels a pressure to always present a “happy, positive” persona when in reality, she has faced “countless barriers” to get to where she is now.
She explained: “My reality isn’t always nice. It is not nice when my access is compromised. It's not nice to realise my presence is a token. It is not nice when my favourite TV shows don’t have subtitles. It is not nice to feel frustrated and unheard.”
Ayling-Ellis reflected on a number of the challenges she has faced while working on acting projects, including being expected to teach the rest of the cast BSL and time explaining how scripts could be improved to make them more accessible and authentic to a deaf person’s experience, but that her changes are often left out of the final cut.
She said: “I’m constantly fighting to have my deaf identity represented but end up being made to feel like my voice isn’t heard – I end up feeling torn. Torn between representing the deaf community and telling our story but wanting to have a career with good working relationships.”
Ayling-Ellis said one element which should be a must within the creative industry is to have a consultant involved at all stages when working with deaf people explaining "you can’t write about deaf people without a deaf person’s input."
Discussing the need for subtitles on every show, she explained that not all channels are required to subtitle 100 per cent of their shows stating media watchdog Ofcom said “decisions on regulations are made on the basis of affordability and audience size, and occasionally technical difficulties”. To put it in perspective, she said it would be as if sound was only available 80 per cent of the time on the shows others watch.
Following up, she said: “So, to all channels still subtitling less than 100%, please fix your problem and to all broadcasters, please think about your audience.”
During her Alternative MacTaggart address, she said that she was “grateful” for the job and the opportunities it had given her but that it could be “frustrating” as she was “playing a deaf character that is either written as a hearing person, or as a deaf stereotype”.
Ayling-Ellis also revealed she has created and is currently developing a new comedy-drama series that will be bilingual, of speech and BSL, and female-focused.
She continued: "Whatever is next for me, I know one thing for sure – I am done with being the token deaf character. I believe that diverse, rich, and fascinating deaf stories are ready to go mainstream and that we can do this, together.
“I don’t know if anyone is going to listen to me, or if this will be lost to the hype. What I do know is that disabled people shouldn’t be responsible for curing non-disabled people of their ignorance.”
In a post-speech interview, Ayling-Ellis said she was “really excited” to create comedy-drama and wants it to be a story which has “not yet been told on TV” revealing she was also in the process of creating a documentary about her daily challenges with the filming crew present during the important speech.
The soap star has been a pioneer for the deaf community, including campaigning for BSL to be recognised as an official language, which was passed in the House of Lords earlier this year.
The Alternative MacTaggart lecture offers a platform for different and diverse voices in the television industry and has previously been delivered by actress and presenter Jameela Jamil, ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and American TV host Jerry Springer.
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