Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri has opened up about being targeted by bullies during her school days – and has revealed that the show is helping her ‘prove them wrong’.
The Love Island star, 26, is getting the last laugh with her success on the show, after being picked on for being deaf while she was growing up.
Tasha was born deaf and received her cochlear implant when she was five years old, later making history as the first-ever deaf contestant on Love Island in 2022, where she made the final with her boyfriend Andrew Le Page.
She has a large fan base who are rooting for her on the dance show and is the star is vocally passionate about raising awareness for the deaf community.
Speaking about her bullies, the Strictly contest told The Daily Star: ‘When I was being bullied, I always thought, “One day I’ll prove you all wrong”.
Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri has opened up about being targeted by bullies during her school days – and has revealed that the show is helping her ‘prove them wrong’
The Love Island star, 26, is getting the last laugh with her recent success, after being picked on for being deaf while she was growing up
‘So being able to say I’ve done that with Strictly is amazing. I’m so pleased that I never let the bullies stop me.
‘I’m so much stronger now. That’s always been my motivation, to do better and work even harder.’
Opening up about the difficult times in her younger years, Tasha revealed that she was the only deaf person in her school.
She explained that the cyber-bullying was so bad that teachers had to get involved.
But now, the reality star is having the last laugh by shooting to new heights of fame on the BBC show.
Tasha received a standing ovation on week one and nearly topped the leaderboard with her Cha Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter with partner Aljaz Skorjanec , who returned to the show.
Head Judge Shirley Ballas said the reality star has ‘the most spectacular leg actions she has ever seen on this show’ and was awarded a massive 30 points from the panel.
Motsi Mabuse agreed with Shirley and said Tasha had ‘started up here, so high, you can’t drop lower now’.
Now, the reality star is having the last laugh by shooting to new heights of fame on the BBC show
Tasha and Aljaz are one of the 15 competing couples on the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing
Tasha received a standing ovation on week one and nearly topped the leaderboard with her Cha Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter with partner Aljaz Skorjanec , who returned to the show
Head Judge Shirley Ballas said the reality star has ‘the most spectacular leg actions she has ever seen on this show’ and was awarded a massive 30 points from the panel
Back in February, Tasha discussed the importance of normalising deaf accents, revealing she was trolled over her voice while on Love Island
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Tasha Ghouri commands attention in a dramatic black gown which features a daringly high slit
While Anton Du Beke said: ‘You are terrific and I was watching Aljaz who was like “this is great” I am looking forward to watching you’.
Meanwhile strict judge Craig only had three words for Tasha as he said, ‘Slay, slay, slay.’
Following the performance, Aljaz admitted, ‘the potential is amazing and I think I’m struggling more than you are right now.’
Back in February, Tasha discussed the importance of normalising deaf accents, revealing she was trolled over her voice while on Love Island.
During an appearance on Lorraine, she revealed that when she took out her implant out, viewers noticed her voice change and she was hit by a barrage of online abuse.
Tasha explained: ‘When I have my implant in, I can hear my voice but when I take it out I can hear a vibration from my throat.
‘I can’t hear what tone it is or how loud. It’s weird because when I put it back on, I go back to my normal voice.
‘When I was on the show, I actually had a lot of ableism [online] about my voice and not many people understood why I spoke the way I did.’
She went on: ‘That was probably the main trolling I got from it. TikToks were made about my voice, taking the mick out of it.
‘That’s why when I came out I was still kind of accepting coming to terms with that and this is why I felt that this was the right time to explain why my voice may sound different.’