Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice took to social media to praise his former dance partner, Rose Ayling-Ellis, telling her to be 'proud' of her campaigning following a law change. Giovanni reshared a heartfelt post to his Instagram story on Wednesday, celebrating the news that British Sign Language will be legally recognised as its own language.
The post, from Deaf Identity, reads: "The British Sign Language bill passed its final reading in UK House of Lords and is set to be legally recognised as its own language." The star praised Rose in her efforts to spearhead the bill, saying "Be proud of what you have done @rose.a.e" with a red love heart.
Rose Ayling-Ellis became Strictly Come Dancing's first deaf contestant last year - and made history after winning the show. She has spearheaded issues within the deaf community and represented them on a national front.
Rose spoke about the bill back in January, saying how British Sign Language should be recognised as an official language. The bill was officially passed on Wednesday.
She also celebrated the news, resharing a photo of the Queen with the caption "Go Lizzie, sign that paper" to her 546,000 followers on Instagram.
Rose and Giovanni stole the hearts of the nation when they performed an emotional dance to Symphony by Clean Bandit, performing 10 seconds of their routine in silence dedicated to the deaf community. The heartwarming performance saw them nominated for a BAFTA award for the Must See Moment of 2021.
Rose spoke about the importance of the new bill on This Morning, saying: "I have heard so many stories about deaf people going to a doctor's appointment and they ask for an interpreter and they don't refer them an interpreter. So they end up needing their child to translate, or a family member. That shouldn't be. Because it's not an official language, we can't do anything about it."
Rose reshared a tweet from the British Deaf Association announcing the bill had been passed.
Fans congratulated the dancer with heartfelt comments on Twitter, with one writing: "Fantastic news! Huge Congratulations to you @RoseAylingEllis, you are a big part of making this happen! Well done for all your hard work and for everything you are as a person! You are just incredible and we all love you."
Another added: "Well done Rose & Giovanni for really bringing BSL to the forefront and giving it the visibility it should always have had. You have both inspired lots of people, young and old, including me, to learn BSL. Very proud of you both."
Meanwhile, one user wrote: "Massive thank you to YOU and Giovanni for what you both had done in SCD, gave a big push to the government to aware about BSLAct for deaf people!!"
