91Èȱ¬

It's been a busy 2022 for Rose Ayling-Ellis!

After winning Strictly Come Dancing last year, the EastEnders actress is now making her CBeebies Bedtime Story debut, where she tells the story of a young bear and his dad on their journey into the discovery of deafness.

She's also been campaigning for British Sign Language (BSL) to be made an official language of the UK with legal status which is now set to become law.

Jenny caught up with Rose to find out more..

Rose will sign the book 'Can Bears Ski?' which is a story written by a deaf author who used his own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world.

The story will also be subtitled and Rose says she's really looking forward to it.

"It's the first bedtime story to be done with British Sign Language (BSL) which is so exciting and it's never happened before and I think that's incredible, it will be so nice for deaf children to be able to have their favourite programme and it's in their language," she said.

Rose also thinks that the story will appeal to all children.

"I hope deaf children enjoy the story and it inspires hearing children to want to learn BSL more!"

Many people, including Rose, have been campaigning to get to British Sign Language (BSL) legally recognised in the UK.

It is now set to become law after being passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

It will now go for official approval from the Queen - which is when it becomes law.

"I feel so happy that it has happened because finally it needs to be recognised. Because it is a language."

Rose added: "It think it's good that we're getting the respect that we deserve because for so long it's been ignored."

She thinks it will make "a big difference."

Newsround's weekday bulletin is now accessible for people who use British Sign Language (BSL).

The programme is fully signed from Monday to Friday, with an in-vision interpreter.

"That's amazing. I didn't have that when I was growing up," Rose said.

"The subtitles would be live and it was quite difficult to understand the language.

"That's amazing to hear that deaf children can watch the news and understand it in their language. Thank you, because I didn't have that."

Rose made Strictly Come Dancing history at the end of last year, as the first deaf contestant to win the show with her dancing partner Giovanni Pernice.

The judges praised Rose for her growth throughout the competition and for sharing her story.

But has Rose been able to keep up the dancing now that the show is over?

"I would love to carry on dancing," she said.

"I'm still dancing, but at the moment, I'm acting a lot at the moment on EastEnders, but I absolutely love dancing."

And finally, Rose had some advice for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps.

"I think really stand up for what you believe in.

"Really understand what you need and your access. You have every right to have them. Never let anyone make you compromise.

"Try out many new things. Just try it out. You might find something that you really love. You might find something that you don't like, but it's good to try. Just keep trying."