EastEnders star and Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose Ayling-Ellis has been named Inspirational Person of the Year at the Visionary Honours Awards in the UK.
The awards, launched in 2019 to celebrate and amplify diversity in the arts, tell underrepresented stories and advocate creators using their platforms for social change.
Hosted by Lenny Henry, they returned on 1 March for a third year to celebrate activists, creators and community leaders who, over the past 18 months, have inspired social change through the arts and their platforms.
Ayling-Ellis, 27, was awarded the Inspirational Person of the Year award, which was presented to her by entrepreneur and The Apprentice winner Tim Campbell.
The actress, who plays Frankie in EastEnders, is Deaf and recently made history as the first Deaf winner of Strictly.
She is also an advocate for British Sign Language becoming a legally recognised language.
The awards honoured 11 recipients and featured performances by poet Sophia Thakur and singer Ella Henderson.
Actress and screenwriter Michaela Coel was handed the Outstanding Achievement Award.
Coel is best known for her work Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You.
The awards also recognised influential film, television, literature, podcasts and theatre.
The Visionary Honours Award for Television Show of the Year was awarded to Russell T Davies' It's a Sin.
The mini-series stars Years and Years' Olly Alexander and follows a group of gay men and their friends living in London during the AIDS crisis.
The Film of the Year award was given to Everybody's Talking About Jamie, which tells the story of Durham teenager Jamie Campbell as he delves into the world of drag.
Broadcaster Trevor McDonald was awarded the Legacy Honour, presented to him by host Henry.
Visionary Honours Awards 2022 Winners:
Book of the Year - Maybe I Don't Belong Here, David Harewood
Podcast of the Year - Extraordinary People, Katie Piper
Play/Musical of the Year - Death of England: Delroy, Clint Dyer and Roy Williams
Documentary of the Year - Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, Kadise Abiola and Tash Gaunt
Television Show of the Year - It's a Sin, Russell T Davies
Film of the Year - Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Tom MacCrae and Jamie Campbell
Song of the Year - Peng Black Girls, Enny
Community Person of the Year - Sabah Ahmedi
Outstanding Achievement Award - Michaela Coel
Inspirational Person of the Year - Rose Ayling-Ellis
Legacy Honour - Trevor McDonald
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Source: Press Association
