Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice won the Must-See Moment at the BAFTA TV awards for their silent dance on Strictly Come Dancing.
Rse Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice won the must-see moment at the Bafta TV awards for their silent dance on Strictly Come Dancing.
EastEnders actress Ayling-Ellis, 27, was the first deaf contestant to compete on Strictly, performing alongside professional dance partner Pernice last year.
Their routine – during which they paused the music and danced in silence as a tribute to the deaf community – won praise from the public.
Ayling-Ellis said: "It is a very special moment for us because hopefully, it showed how powerful TV can be, where it has actually introduced changes. It has even helped the BSL (British Sign Language) law be passed recently. It made people stand up more for sign language and just better deaf awareness and positiveness towards people. We have still got a long way to go but it is such a great start. We are so, so, so proud of it."
Pernice added: "When we first thought of the idea to put silence into the dance, we knew it was going to give an impact, but this went bigger than what we thought."
Other winners on the night included Coronation Street, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Gogglebox and The Chase.
Nicola Coughlan presented Jamie Demetriou with the BAFTA TV award for Best Male in a Comedy for his role in Channel 4's Stath Lets Flats.Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway has claimed the first award of the TV BAFTAs, for Entertainment Programme – its fourth win in the category.
Ant McPartlin said "what a great start to the night" before Declan Donnelly added: "We were convinced we wereCoronation Street stars Sally Dynevor and Charlie De Melo with producer Verity MacLeod who scooped the BAFTA for Soap and Continuing DramaLee Riley, Mica Ven and Marcus Luther, winners of the Reality and Constructed Factual award for GoggleboxMo Gilligan won Best Comedy Entertainment at the BAFTA TV awards. The visibly emotional comedian said the prize "means so much" because Channel 4 took him in when his mental health was struggling in 2017.
Comedy Entertainment Programme BAFTA TV winners Mo Gilligan (centre) and cast for The Latest ShowThe TV BAFTA Award for Female Performance In A Comedy Programme went to
Sophie WillanThe BAFTA for Features was awarded to...Big Zuu's Big Eats!Olivia Coleman presented Ant and Dec with their BAFTAThe Chase scooped the TV BAFTA for Daytime Programme with Chasers Mark Labbett, Jenny Ryan, Paul Sinhaat and Anne Hegerty on hand to pick up their prizeThe final prize at the BAFTA TV Awards went to leading actress Jodie Comer for her role in Channel 4's Help.
