A Strictly Come Dancing star who put on the 'greatest' performance judge Anton Du Beke said he had ever seen on the show came from humble beginnings in Kent.

Rose Ayling-Ellis was born in Shepway and grew up near the coast in Hythe.

She is a deaf actress known for playing Frankie Lewis, the daughter of Danny Dyer's character Mick Carter, in TV soap EastEnders.

The 27-year-old was first cast in 2020 and her character was originally written by the deaf journalist and scriptwriter Charlie Swinbourne.

Rose is the first deaf person to compete on Strictly and will be remembered for her performance paying tribute to the deaf community which earned her the sterling praise from Anton.

Her Couple's Choice dance last weekend with partner Giovanni Pernice featured a powerful period of silence and scored her an almost perfect score of 39 out of 40.

Rose went to Christ Church secondary school in Ashford, which later became the John Wallis Academy before attending the Deafinitely Youth Theatre.

As a child, she took part in a filming weekend run by the National Deaf Children's Society where she met deaf film director Ted Evans, who then cast her in his short film The End.

She also appeared in the music video for Middle of the Night by The Vamps in 2017.

Before her role in EastEnders, Rose performed in several stage productions, including Mother Courage at the Royal Exchange, Faith, Hope And Charity R&D at the National Theatre and Herons Workshop at the Lyric in Hammersmith.

Pro dancers Ola and James Jordan from Sevenoaks have even declared her their favourite to win the final next month.

Rose will next appear the show's musical special on Saturday from 6.35pm.

Read more: All the latest news from Hythe