Strictly Come Dancing’s Rose Ayling-Ellis is set to join forces with Call the Midwife star Charlotte Ritchie for a major new ITV crime drama.
Rose, 29, who has been deaf since birth, will take on the lead role in the six-part crime drama Code of Silence. The actress will portray a deaf catering worker who becomes an unlikely heroine by lip-reading criminals’ conversations to help put them behind bars, reports Birmingham Live.
According to ITV’s synopsis: “She’s struggling to make ends meet, juggling two jobs, in a police canteen and a local bar, while also doing her best to support her deaf mum.
“When a policewoman calls on her to lip-read the conversations of dangerous criminals, she is plunged into a new, exhilarating world.”
Rose will share the screen with Call the Midwife actress Charlotte, as well as actors Kieron Moore and Andrew Buchan.
The cast also features Nathan Armarkwei Laryea, Joe Absolom, Beth Goddard, Andrew Scarborough, Fifi Garfield and presenter Rolf Choutan, who is making his acting debut.
Lead director Diarmuid Goggins (Kin, Black Cab, Witness No. 3) brings Code of Silence to life and the show is told through the point of view of Alison Brooks (Rose).
Alison is struggling to make ends meet, juggling two jobs, one in a police canteen and another in a local bar, while also doing her best to support her Deaf mum, Julie (Fifi Garfield).
Alison soon finds herself embroiled in a high-stakes police investigation when DS Ashleigh Francis (Charlotte Ritchie) requests her lip-reading skills to keep tabs on a dangerous criminal gang.
As her interpretation of their secret discussions becomes pivotal to the case, Alison is thrust into an exciting new world.
Her role rapidly becomes crucial in cracking the police case, but her emotions get tangled when she develops an attraction towards one of the suspects, Liam Bayne (Kieron Moore).
Despite being aware of the risks and the increasing danger to her personal life, Alison can’t let go. ITV, Mammoth Screen and BritBox announced on Wednesday that filming has officially started.
This drama marks Rose’s first significant role since her victory in Strictly Come Dancing 2021 with professional dance partner Giovanni, who has since left the dance show amid bullying allegations, which he refutes.
They also bagged the ‘must-see moment’ award at the Baftas for their silent dance to Clean Bandit’s song Symphony. She exited EastEnders in 2022, after portraying deaf character Frankie Lewis for two years.
Code of Silence will premiere in 2025 on ITV1 and be available for streaming on ITVX.