Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final watched by 11 million people

An average of 11 million people tuned in to watch soap star Rose Ayling-Ellis make history as the first deaf winner of Strictly Come Dancing.

The EastEnders actor took the glitterball trophy in the BBC One show alongside her partner, Giovanni Pernice, defeating the Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite and his partner, Johannes Radebe, the first all-male pairing on the show.

The figures gave BBC One a 57.8% share in the overnight ratings, with the show peaking at 12.3 million viewers, a significant increase on the launch show in September, which was watched by an average of 7 million viewers.

Ayling-Ellis and Pernice claimed victory after performing a quickstep, their couple’s choice routine and a showdance. After their Romeo and Juliet-inspired showdance to The Rose by Bette Midler, Ayling-Ellis said: “I’ve become more me than I’ve ever been because of Strictly.”

Both finalist pairs had matching scores during the final, receiving a perfect 40 for their revisited favourite dances and their showdances. However, the judges’ marks did not count towards the final result, which was solely down to the public vote.

The actor, who was the first deaf contestant on the programme, had used an interpreter during the series. Her couple’s choice dance, repeated in the final, shared her experiences of deafness and featured a long period of silence.

The disability equality charity Scope described Ayling-Ellis’s participation in the show as a “massive step forward” for disability representation, but called on more broadcasters to feature disabled people’s talents, saying there was still a long way to go to improve representation of disabled people on TV.

James Taylor, the charity’s executive director of strategy, said: “For Rose Ayling-Ellis to have starred week after week on Saturday night primetime – and then lift the glitterball trophy – is a massive step forward.

“However, there is still a very long way to go until disabled people are featured fairly on screen. There are 14.1 million disabled people in the UK and their lives and stories are not being told.

“Seeing disabled people on TV will only help improve understanding and break down barriers.

“So, the fact that Rose’s journey has been beamed into living rooms week in, week out is excellent progress and must be the start of real change.”

Mark Atkinson, the chief executive at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said Ayling-Ellis’s appearance on the show had given audiences “a beautiful insight into the deaf community and deaf culture”.

Strictly Come Dancing will return on Christmas Day for a festive special on BBC One.

• Strictly Come Dancing

• Entertainment TV
• BBC
• Deafness and hearing impairment
• Disability
• Television
• news