BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Tasha Ghouri life - previous dance experience to famous ex
Strictly Come Dancing is set to return to our screens this weekend and amongst the glittering lineup is 26-year-old TV personality, Tasha Ghouri. Born in Thirsk, Tasha was born deaf and didn't learn to speak until she was five years old.
Up until that point, she had communicated solely through British Sign Language, marking a significant turning point in her life. She has been supported throughout by her parents Nicky Young and Tarek Ghouri, as well as her brother Alex.
Tasha's dance background can be traced back to her early childhood when she began ballet lessons, later training in commercial streetstyle. After finishing her education, she relocated to London and signed with a modelling agency.
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In the capital, she worked as a freelance dancer behind a bar and even featured in a music video for the Sleepwalkrs and MNEK track, More Than Words. The video showcased a performance from a dance group made up of deaf and hard-of-hearing dancers.
She gained additional recognition after appearing in an ASOS campaign for earrings, which included a cochlear implant wearer and received commendation from several charities, reports Yorkshire Live.
On a personal note, she briefly dated former Strictly professional dancer Giovanni Pernice after they connected on Instagram. Their relationship was short-lived as they split the same year they met in January 2022, when Giovanni participated in the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.
After her stint on Love Island catapulted her into the limelight, she became a viral sensation on TikTok in 2024.
Her 'Get Ready With Me' video became a viral sensation, as she removed her cochlear implant and spoke in her deaf accentracking up millions of views. The celebrity has just released a romantic fiction, 'Hits Different', featuring a protagonist who experiences hearing loss.
Speaking on her Instagram account, she expressed: "Growing up there wasn't any representation on TV, in books etc and this was key when it came to Hits Different."
She continued with evident pride, "Reading all of your reviews honestly has me beaming side to side, never in a million years did I think I would co-author a romance novel with a main character who is deaf and wears a cochlear implant."
Emphasising the inclusivity of her work, she added, "People with disabilities can also find love, can be confident, can be resilient, can chase their dreams, we are also worthy."
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One