Strictly Come Dancing's Rose Ayling-Ellis is set to join forces with Call the Midwife actress Charlotte Ritchie in a major new ITV crime drama. The 29-year-old, who has been deaf since birth, will take on the lead role in the six-part crime series Code of Silence.
She will portray a deaf catering worker who becomes an unexpected hero by lip-reading criminals' conversations to aid in their capture. According to ITV's synopsis: "She's struggling to make ends meet, juggling two jobs, in a police canteen and a local bar, while also doing her best to support her deaf mum."
It continues: "When a policewoman calls on her to lip-read the conversations of dangerous criminals, she is plunged into a new, exhilarating world." Rose will share the screen with Call the Midwife star Charlotte, as well as actors Kieron Moore and Andrew Buchan.
The cast is further bolstered by Nathan Armarkwei Laryea, Joe Absolom, Beth Goddard, Andrew Scarborough, Fifi Garfield and presenter Rolf Choutan, who is making his acting debut. Diarmuid Goggins, known for his work on Kin, Black Cab, and Witness No 3, serves as the lead director for Code of Silence, which tells the story from the perspective of Alison Brooks (Rose), reports Birmingham Live.
Alison is depicted as a woman struggling to make ends meet, working two jobs - one in a police canteen and another in a local bar - all while trying to support her Deaf mother, Julie (Fifi Garfield).
Alison soon finds herself embroiled in a high-stakes police investigation when DS Ashleigh Francis (Charlotte Ritchie) requests her lip-reading expertise to monitor a perilous criminal gang.
As her interpretation of their clandestine discussions becomes pivotal to the case, Alison is thrust into an exhilarating new reality.
Her role rapidly becomes crucial in cracking the police case, but her emotions become tangled as she finds herself attracted to one of the suspects, Liam Bayne (Kieron Moore). Despite being aware of the risks and the escalating threat to her personal life, Alison remains undeterred.
ITV, Mammoth Screen and BritBox announced on Wednesday that filming has officially commenced. The drama marks Rose's first significant role since her victory in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 with professional dance partner Giovanni, who has since left the dance show amid bullying allegations, which he refutes.
They also clinched the 'must-see moment' award at the Baftas for their silent dance to Clean Bandit's song Symphony. She exited EastEnders in 2022, after portraying deaf character Frankie Lewis for two years.
Code of Silence will premiere in 2025 on ITV1 and be available for streaming on ITVX.