I am so excited that today we are joined by a true trailblazer, Rose Ayling-Ellis who I have wanted to have on the podcast for ages and trust me this conversation was worth the wait! 

Rose has achieved so many firsts: she is the first deaf person to win ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ which even won her a BAFTA, the first deaf person to host live sports coverage on British TV as a presenter for the 2024 Paralympics, and the first deaf actor to be nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in ‘As You Like It’. 

And now after acting for 13 years she has landed her first lead role in ITV’s gripping new TV drama, ‘Code of Silence’ which follows her character Alison who is plucked from working in the police station canteen and recrutied to lip read for the police on a dangerous case. Plot spoiler: it’s INCREDIBLE! 

In this episode we talk about the hurdles and prejudice Rose has had to overcome to pursue the career she’s dreamed of, the lessons she’s learned from resilience and the pressure that comes from being a trailblazer. 

We also chat about the mental health problems in the deaf community which we all need to pay more attention to and how we can all make space for oneanother to become a truly inclusive society. 

If you love this conversation as much as I do, get in touch with me across socials @joshsmithhosts as I always love hearing from you. I’ll see you next week for another episode of ‘Reign’. Love, Josh x

P.S The power of conversation is so important and asking for help instead of trying to face stuff alone can be SO empowering. Empowerment is what we’re all about on ‘Reign’ so I am so pleased this episode is brought to you in partnership with online therapy platform, BetterHelp. With over 5,000 therapists who have a diverse variety of expertise in mental health in the UK already, BetterHelp can provide you with access to the best mental health professional for you. With BetterHelp you can have online therapy on your schedule, wherever you are and build your support system, 

If you need support now you can get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp by visiting betterhelp.com/reign.

P.P.S. If all this self-love chat has left you wanting to improve your relationships and build new ones check out my self help book, ‘Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversation, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing’ which is out now! The book gives you so much advice on how to have incredible conversations with everyone, and how you can turn everyday conversations into a self development practice so you can improve your relationships and mental health in the process. You can get your copy here https://geni.us/GreatChat and I really hope you love it! 

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