Rose Ayling-Ellis shared a long-awaited life update on Instagram over Easter weekend. The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 winner revealed she had become an auntie for the first time after her brother Jacob welcomed a baby boy.
The proud actress, who found fame on EastEnders before treading the boards on the West End, shared a sweet snap of her newborn nephew rocking a colourful babygrow. The 29-year-old star's post was met with a flurry of congratulations, including from her former dance partner and close friend Giovanni Pernice, who commented with a string of heart emojis.
Rose's sister-in-law also expressed her joy at the special family relationship, writing: "Little man loves his auntie Rose." Another fan said they had been impressed by Rose's brother Jacob, who works as a first aid responder, prompting the TV star to thank them for their kind message and to say how "proud" she is of him.
The photo dump, captioned "Lately…", featured everything from a fun-filled game of Bananagrams to a recent outing to the National Theatre to watch Michael Sheen in the NHS origin story Nye.
After studying the word clues in her Bananagrams game, fans were convinced they had worked out what Rose's next acting project could be.
"Ooh do I think I know what you might be doing?! Congratulations on becoming an Auntie xx," one wrote, while another penned: "Congratulations on your new role Auntie Rose. Are there some cryptic clues in your Scrabble board?".
Rose will shortly be starring in Code of Silence, an upcoming ITV drama that will see her play a deaf reporter who returns to her quiet hometown at the same time a serial killer becomes active.
This comes after the talented actress scored an Olivier nomination For her turn as Celia in As You Like It in London’s West End.
Strictly was a game-changer for Rose, but she admits it was a difficult decision. It was only after making TV bosses agree to certain conditions that she signed on the dotted line.
A visible in-studio interpreter, updated subtitles uploaded to iPlayer, audio description for blind people, and deaf-awareness training for cast and crew were non-negotiables for her.
"They went further than I’d asked so I said yes," she told The Guardian last year. "On my first day, everyone finger spelt their name to me. It was a special gesture.”
One thing's for sure – Rose is grateful for the platform Strictly afforded her, enabling her to represent the deaf community on a national level while fostering real change in the media landscape.
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It's not something she takes lightly. "I’ve had so many opportunities because of all this," she said. "And I’m in this position where people are listening to me.
"It comes with a sense of responsibility: I don’t want to make a mistake, or let the deaf community down. It feels [like] a lot is on my shoulders."