Strictly Come Dancing’s Tasha Ghouri moved viewers to tears on Saturday’s show as she became visibly emotional.
In Strictly’s first icons-themed episode on BBC One, the remaining 10 pairs took to the dance floor with routines inspired by music legends.
Tasha, aged 26, alongside her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, paid homage to P!nk with a couple’s choice performance to the hit What About Us.
During a VT discussing the significance of her performance and song selection, Tasha was tearful as she shared a poignant revelation, reports the Mirror.
The ex-Love Island contestant revealed: “This song is about feeling not seen or unheard. I was born completely deaf in both ears, and my parents found out when I was about 12 months old.”
She continued, detailing her family’s response: “Being born into a hearing family was definitely difficult, they’re the ones who had to really adapt their lifestyle around me, they started learning sign language which was beautiful”, and mentioned how dance became an outlet for her, where she could “let go” and “just be Tasha”.
Reflecting on her journey, the Strictly celebrity added: “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.
“When I left the show, I remember my dad sat me down and he looked at me, straight, and said Tasha 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.”
Tasha then broke down in tears as she added: “It really hit me hard as I wanted to go on for representation and I felt like I failed not just myself but the whole deaf community.”
She powerfully continued: “I said you know what, I’m not gonna let them get me down, I’m going to use my platform and educate people.”
After Tasha’s powerful dance, she was left delighted to learn she had received 39 points from the judges.
Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers were left in tears over Tasha’s VT as they shared their support for the contestant. One person said: “Hearing Tasha talk about her experiences of being bullied because of her disability was heartbreaking. And it really hit home too. Her dance was absolutely stunning and she is a beautiful person inside and out. I love her. #Strictly” with heart emojis.
A different account put: “Both Tasha’s vt and her dance made me SO EMOTIONAL”, another wrote: “Wow Tasha you are a credit raising awareness. What a personal, beautiful and powerful dance #strictly” while a different viewer put: “tasha she should be so unbelievably proud of herself #strictly” with a series of crying emojis.
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer