Every week, Strictly star Tasha Ghouri has wowed audiences with her impressive dance routines with professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec. The 26-year-old, who was born deaf and wears a cochlear implant, has been praised as an inspiration to the deaf community. But did you know the heartbreaking reason behind her drive for success?
The former Love Island star, from North Yorkshire, revealed that her experience of being bullied at school spurred her on to achieve her dreams, saying that competing on the BBC dance show has helped her prove her bullies wrong.
"I struggled through school. I had quite a bit of cyberbullying. There were keyboard warriors," she told the Daily Star in September.
"The school had to get involved. No one else in my school was deaf. I felt quite lonely. My confidence was knocked. It was tough.
© Guy Levy"When I was being bullied, I always thought, 'One day I'll prove you all wrong' so being able to say I've done that with Strictly is amazing. I'm so pleased that I never let the bullies stop me. I'm so much stronger now," continued the model. "That's always been my motivation, to do better and work even harder. In a way, I'm thankful I went through all the hard times because it's made me who I am today."
© Guy LevyTasha went on to say that being on TV has helped inspire confidence in other deaf people. "People with hearing aids have messaged me," she explained. "I've had people saying, 'You've given me the confidence to wear my hair up' or 'I've put sparkles on my hearing aid'.
"That makes me so happy. I want to give people confidence," said the reality star, who boasts over one million Instagram followers and has worked with the Department of Education and Number 10 Downing Street to champion issues on behalf of the deaf community.
© John PhillipsTasha also opened up about her experience of social media trolling during Icons Week on Strictly, which saw the dancer perform a moving modern dance routine to Pink's track, 'What About Us'.
"Two years ago, I went on a reality TV show, I was the first contestant with a cochlear implant and I really wanted to go on to show that even though I had a disability, I could still find love," she said.
© BBC"When I left the show, I remember my dad sat me down and he looked at me, straight, and said, 'Tash there's a lot of horrific stuff that was written about you, especially on social media'. There were videos made about my voice, the way I speak, it became a trend at one point," she continued through tears.
"It really, really hit me because I wanted to go on for representation and I felt like I failed not just myself but the whole deaf community."
"I said you know what, I'm not gonna let them get me down, I'm going to use my platform and educate people," added Tasha.
