When Rose Ayling-Ellis lifted Strictly Come Dancing's glitterball trophy, it was a huge moment in many ways.

As the EastEnders actress, who is deaf, and her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, delivered perfect routines week after week, it wasn't only a great personal achievement for her.

It was putting what is often called a 'hidden disability' centre stage on one of the most popular shows on television.

Rose's Strictly journey gave an insight into what it's like to be deaf in a hearing world.

It's a sense that is taken for granted, but during their couple's choice routine - to Symphony by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson - the music cut out and they kept dancing in near silence.

it was a hugely poignant moment.

And for teenager Paris Thompson, it reinforced that being deaf is no barrier to achieving what you dream of doing.

"Watching that dance was really profound," says Paris. "To have that moment and see yourself represented. For her to be able to be on Strictly in the first place was amazing and to be able to have the opportunity to show hearing people this is what our world is like, even if it’s just for 20 seconds, was still really powerful.

"It impacted so many people and loads of people got to see it and think actually this is a disability that we need to know more about.

"And she spread awareness that there are different levels of deafness. There are deaf people that don’t sign, there are deaf people like me that sign and talk, and there are deaf people whose route of communication is voice off (no speech) and sign."

Paris is already well on her way to achieving her dreams. Like Rose, she wants to be an actress.

"I'd love to play Rose's long-long sister or cousin in EastEnders," she laughs.

She is in her final year at Norwich High School for Girls, and is in the process of preparing her audition pieces for drama school - she wants to go to RADA.

Outside her studies, she's a member of The Garage Youth Theatre group in the city and the deaf-led company Deafinitely Theatre in London.

But it doesn't stop there. Inspirational Paris has helped Great Ormond Street Hospital to raise an incredible £10m to build a specialist centre for young people with sight and hearing loss by sharing her experience with its fundraising partners.

And she regularly promotes equality for deaf and hard of hearing people.

As part of last month's International Day of the Girl she was elected as a Women of the World Young leader, which celebrates young activists and campaigners who are doing their bit to make the world a better place.

And she's been nominated in the Young Star category of the Women of the Future Awards, the winners of which are revealed in a few days' time.

Paris was born very prematurely - at 24 weeks - and weighed just a pound.

"I was born severely deaf on one side and profoundly deaf on the other side," she explains.

Then, when she was 12, Paris woke up one morning thinking that her hearing aid had broken.

"The severe ear had gone down to profound overnight," says Paris.

"It’s a big thing to go through – I was already deaf, so I had a deaf identity, but it’s just a big drop like that, you don’t expect it."

That was when Paris had her first cochlear implant - a device which transforms sound into electrical impulses which are delivered directly to the auditory nerve. She recently got her second one.

Brightly coloured, she wears them with pride.

And it was through having them fitted at Great Ormond Street Hospital which led to her becoming involved with fundraising for the Sight and Sound centre, which opened in 2021.

She's given keynote speeches to VIPs and potential supporters, where she's told her story - including one with Britain's Got Talent's Stephen Mulhern.

She read a poem at one of their Christmas fundraising balls, alongside actors Samantha Bond, Emilia Fox and Jason Isaacs (a 'pinch me' moment for Paris, who is a huge Harry Potter fan) and Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes.

And she also appears in the short film Sign of the Season, a multi-sensory Christmas carol, which uses Makaton, British Sign Language and body percussion to make it inclusive, which was made to raise money for GOSH's annual Christmas appeal.

Paris's first experience of being on stage was when she was tiny, in a production of Where The Wild Things Are.

"I was in this massive paper mask, and I spoke so quietly that no-one could hear me because the mask was so thick," she says.

She was instantly hooked.

"I just love acting," she says. "It's really hard to explain why, it's a passion," she says.

She went on to play Jane Banks in a production of Mary Poppins and her first experience of being on screen was in a short film called CODA, which featured British Sign Language.

"I felt really included," she says.

She's been going to The Garage in Norwich since she was about 10 - a place that has given her a creative outlet.

She is part of The Garage Theatre Company and as well as getting experience of being on stage - and how things work behind the scenes - they are helping her prepare her monologues for her drama school auditions.

In their last production, Flint, Paris played the lead role and she taught British Sign Language to some of the cast members so that it could be incorporated into the play.

She says that The Garage is incredibly supportive and makes any adaptations that she needs in order for her to be fully included.

"They’re amazing there, they’re so willing to make those changes," she says.

"That’s what most people want, isn’t it, to be included? Because you don’t want to feel like you’re being left out, you don’t want to feel like you can’t access what’s happening."

Paris, who won a drama scholarship to Norwich High School for Girls, is about to start applying to drama school, and RADA is at the top of her list.

"It's notoriously hard to get into, but it's worth a try," she says.

While there is still some way to go, deaf characters are becoming more visible on our screens.

As well as Rose starring in EastEnders, a recent episode of Channel 5's All Creatures Great And Small featured two characters who were using sign language.

And the Hulu series Only Murders In The Building, which stars Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez has a recurring character who is deaf.

Every two weeks Paris attends workshops at Deafinitely Theatre, which she joined three years ago.

And last year she got to meet Rose when she and Giovanni went along to film a segment for Strictly.

It was another 'pinch yourself' moment, says Paris.

"They said there was a special guest coming, but they hadn't told us who it was," she says.

"It was amazing because she came in and was talking to us about what her experience was and we were allowed to ask questions. It was really nice to be able to see another deaf person who is doing what we all love to do."