Tasha Ghouri was in tears on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night as she opened up about the negative reaction she has experienced online due to her disability.
The former Love Island star, 26, and dancer partner Aljaz Skorjanec impressed the judges and got a joint series high score of 39 as they performed to What About Us by Pink.
But before the dance, Ghouri, who was born deaf and uses a cochlear implant, became visibly emotional as she told viewers about online trolls who made videos about the way she speaks.
She revealed that after her stint on dating show Love Island in 2022, she received an onslaught of cruel comments, leaving her feeling like she had let down “the whole deaf community”.
The model, author and podcaster, from North Yorkshire, became Love Island’s first deaf contestant when she appeared on the ITV show, eventually finishing joint fourth with boyfriend Andrew Le Page, who she is still in a relationship with.
Ghouri said she joined the show to find love, as well as to raise awareness for the deaf community, but instead found herself the victim of online hate.
“When I left the show, I remember my dad sat me down and he looked at me straight and said ‘Tash, there is a lot of horrific stuff that was written about you, especially on social media,’ she said.
“There are videos made about my voice and the way I speak, it became a trend at one point.”
Ghouri said the experience made her hit “rock bottom”.
“Because I wanted to go on for representation and I feel like I failed, not just myself but, the whole deaf community,” she said.
But she insisted she would not let the trolls win.
“I’m going to use my platform and educate people,” she said.
Today, Ghouri has more than 2.2 million followers across her social media platforms.
She has worked with Number 10 Downing Street and the Department for Education to champion issues on behalf of people who are deaf.
Speaking ahead of the start of this year’s Strictly series, Ghouri admitted how much the moment meant to her.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be on Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve been watching the show since I was little and it’s a firm Ghouri family favourite, so this is a total dream come true,” she said.
Her appearance comes three years after Rose Ayling-Ellis became Strictly’s first deaf contestant, and went on to win.
The remaining 10 celebrities and their professional dance partners took to the ballroom floor on Saturday evening as part of Strictly Come Dancing’s inaugural icons week.
Taylor Swift and Beyonce were among the stars who were honoured during the show.
JLS singer JB Gill and stand-in professional partner Lauren Oakley joined Ghouri and Skorjanec at the top of the leaderboard, scoring the joint highest number of points of this year’s series.
Professional dancer Amy Dowden, who is partnered with Gill, was forced to miss last Sunday’s results programme after being taken to hospital as a “precaution” after she began “feeling unwell”.
Oakley stood in for her, performing a Bruno Mars medley with Gill on Saturday’s show, which gave the pair a score of 39.
The celebration of icons continues on Sunday night, when the professional dancers will perform a Beyonce medley with Johannes Radebe channelling the singer’s alter-ego, Sasha Fierce.