Strictly’s Tasha hailed as a ‘trooper’ after live blunder that was ignored by judges – did you spot it?
STRICTLY Come Dancing fans claim Tasha Ghouri “is not getting the credit she deserves” after she battled through a blunder on the live show.
The Love Island alum, 26, tacked an Argentine Tango to music from the SIX soundtrack during the exciting quarter-final episode aired on BBC One on Saturday.
Yet during the fast-paced routine with Strictly professional Aljaz Skorjanec, 34, her cochlear implant came loose – something the dancer and host Tess Daly, 55, mentioned as the routine wrapped.
Yet after there was barely any acknowledgement by the judging panel when giving their score of 38, fans piped up instead.
One took to Reddit to put: “Did anyone else notice that Tasha’s hearing aid [cochlear implant] fell off half way through her dance last night and she carried on like a trooper? Wow.”
Another wrote: “Yes, she mentioned it before getting judged.
“She deserves so much praise for this.”
One mused: “Tasha did phenomenally well to not let it throw her off and finished the dance beautifully. I just wish I had been able to actually see more of it! The lights, costume and other dancers all made it a bit tricky to see what she was doing.”
Another posted: “I didn’t see it (which I would argue shows her professionalism!) but was mentioned on the show.
“Good on her cause that must be really scary, didn’t seem like she missed a beat from where I was sitting!
“By professionalism, I mean her being carrying on like trooper and powering through it. It was not a dig at her dance experience which seems to be a hot topic.”
One then bluntly posted: “She is not getting the credit she deserves imho.”
Another added: “I am in awe of her and her performances and what she can do.
“Also how she handled last night unable to hear when dancing. What a trooper.”
Tasha uses her cochlear implant to hear, with the device designed to mimic natural hearing and replace the function of the inner ear.
They serve to help those who have a permanent, severe to profound deafness, and cannot hear the full range of speech sounds with a standard hearing aid.
Strictly 2024 pairings
Here's who is matched with who this series...
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas
JB Gill and Amy Dowden MBE
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe
Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk
Paul Merson and Karen Hauer
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał
Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec
Tom Dean MBE and Nadiya Bychkova
Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones
Sam Quek MBE and Nikita Kuzmin
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones
OPENING UP
Tasha has spoken openly about her cochlear implant through her reality TV shows.
Tasha was born deaf and, aged five, she uttered her first word, after being fitted with a cochlear implant.
During Love Island she suffered trolling for her disability but, in an exclusive chat with The Sun, she told how she was in her “sly” era on Strictly – and determined to raise awareness.
Earlier in the series, Tasha and Aljaz performed to Pink’s top ten hit What About Us, with Tasha explaining in a clip beforehand: “This song is about feeling not seen, or unheard.
“I was born completely deaf in both ears, and my parents found out when I was about 12 months old.”
The routine won over the judges, earning them 39 points, and reduced many watching at home to tears.
More importantly, it struck a chord with young deaf girls, something Tasha thinks is even better than lifting the show’s Glitterball trophy.
She said: “Having that reaction and giving that confidence to other people, 100 per cent that’s better than winning.
“For the younger Tasha’s out there that struggle with self confidence, self love or just trying to accept their disability, I want to be that voice to show them it doesn’t define who you are.
“I’ve had hundreds of messages, thousands now, probably.
“A lot are from girls who say they have been watching me on TV and thanks to me they feel confident about wearing their hair up and showing off their cochlear implant.
“I’ve been bedazzling my cochlear implant and really making a show of it, and some people have said they are going to do the same.
“It goes to show how much of an impact it can have.
“You’ve got me and (fellow contestant, blind comedian) Chris McCausland, we are using our voices on Strictly, that’s how important it is, and we’re showing how big the impact it has on people really is.”