Tasha Ghouri left viewers in tears as she made a heartbreaking admission ahead of her iconic dance
Strictly: Tasha breaks down in tears over online trolling
Strictly Come Dancing’s Tasha Ghouri moved viewers to tears on Saturday’s show as she became visibly emotional.
In the latest instalment, which introduced an icons theme for the first time on the BBC One series, the 10 remaining celebrity contestants and their pro partners took to the dance floor with performances set to tracks from music legends.
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Tasha, 26, alongside her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, paid tribute to P!nk by performing a couple’s choice routine to the hit What About Us.
In a pre-dance video, Tasha was tearful as she shared a poignant revelation about the significance of her performance and song selection, reports the Mirror.
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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 went on to describe how growing up in a hearing family presented challenges, praising her family’s efforts to adapt by learning sign language and noting it was “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”. She also mentioned that they encouraged her passion for dance from a young age, which allowed her to “let go” and “just be Tasha”.
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Continuing her story, the Strictly favourite said: “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.”
Recounting her challenging experience after leaving the show, Tasha shared with her father: “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.”
Overcome with emotion, Tasha continued through tears: “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.”
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She then declared with conviction: “I said you know what, I’m not gonna let them get me down, I’m going to use my platform and educate people.”
Following her emotive performance, Tasha was thrilled to find out she had scored an impressive 39 points from the judges.
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Social media users quickly reacted to Tasha’s VT, with many expressing their support and sharing how moved they were by her story. One Twitter user commented: “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” accompanied by heart emojis.
Others took to Twitter to express their feelings, with one saying: “Both Tasha’s vt and her dance made me SO EMOTIONAL”, another added: “Wow Tasha you are a credit raising awareness. What a personal, beautiful and powerful dance #strictly” and yet another stated: “tasha she should be so unbelievably proud of herself #strictly” followed by a string of crying emojis.
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer