Rose Ayling-Ellis MBE
We are excited to announce our first Star Speaker at the Student Summit: Rose Ayling-Ellis MBE!
Rose Ayling-Ellis is a BAFTA winning actor, presenter and children’s author who has achieved an extraordinary number of accolades across several artistic mediums. With each project she takes on, she continues to establish herself as a beloved household name as well as an international talent who can successfully turn her hand to anything.
Rose became the first deaf contestant to dance on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 and went on to win the competition. She was awarded the 2022 BAFTA Television Award for ‘Must-See Moment of the Year’, paving the way for radical on-screen representation. She also played ‘Frankie Lewis’ in EastEnders, also on BBC one, from 2020-2022.
In May last year, Rose starred as ‘Alison Woods’ in ITV1 thriller Code of Silence. The six-part crime drama follows a deaf woman who uses her lip-reading skills to assist in a police investigation involving a dangerous gang. The first episode garnered a consolidated 6.1 million viewers and critics singled out Rose’s performance: The Guardian called her “outstanding” and a “triumph”, observing “it’s Rose Ayling-Ellis’s world at the moment – and we just live in it, which is proving to be a very nice thing for us all.” The Standard praised her portrayal as “outstanding”, Stylist called her “magnetic”, the iPaper raved that she is “a revelation… a riveting actress with the talent to anchor a knuckle-biting criminal cape.” The Herald declared “a star is born with a dazzling turn” and the Independent wrote that she “is exceptional (and) will, one day, receive an Oscar”. The Telegraph wrote that Rose “establishes herself as an exciting leading actress”, The Times noted “she has the TV Midas touch” and the Financial Times observed that she “shines”. The programme was quickly recommissioned and preparations for the second series are underway. Rose was nominated for an RTS award in the category of ‘Leading Actor – Female’ and the series went on to win the ‘Media Moment of the Year’ at the 2026 Scope awards before winning ‘Best Drama’ at the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards, where Rose was also nominated in the category of ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Reunion.
Rose has a ten-book, multi-format deal with DK Children's and, in March 2025, published her first book ‘Marvellous Messages’, which follows Rose, her cat ‘Halo’, and their guide ‘Perky the Pigeon’. Illustrated by Lena Addink, the trio embark on a journey through time, discovering how messages have been sent and received across different cultures and eras. She followed this with four board books which combine stories and sign language to teach British Sign Language to young children. ‘The Big Bang!’ has been selected by World Book Day 2026; written in collaboration with Katie Blackburn and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly, the story encourages reading and inclusivity with its charming and accessible story in which Rose brings her unique perspective to a story promoting understanding, friendship and empathy, highlighting the importance of helping others.
She has produced two documentaries with Rogan Productions and the BBC: Old Hands, New Tricks, which was broadcast in March 2025, and Signs For Change, which TX’d in 2023. Both explore the importance of British Sign Language and the significance of Deaf culture within our society. Signs For Change was nominated for a 2024 BAFTA Craft Award and Rose was shortlisted for ‘Best Documentary Presenter’ at the Grierson 2024 British Documentary Awards. Old Hands, New Tricks moved audiences and critics alike, with Rose once again being recognised by The Grierson Awards with a nomination for ‘Best Documentary Presenter’, with The Guardian calling it “moving and inspirational… funny, beautiful TV that leaves a lump in the throat.” The Telegraph noted the series was “...touching and feelgood...”, The Times called Rose a “...delightful screen presence.” and The Independent said that the documentary is “...moving and inspirational...”.
In 2024, Rose became the first deaf presenter of live sport at the Paralympic Games in Paris, winning the award for ‘Under 30 Gamechanger / Innovator of the Year’ at 2024 The Broadcast Sports Awards and a Royal Television Society Award for ‘Best Sports Presenter’ alongside Clare Balding in 2025.
In recognition of her voluntary services to the deaf community Rose was awarded an MBE in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours.
We're delighted that Rose will be speaking at this year's Student Summit. Join us on 21 November to hear her inspiring story and connect with fellow students from across The Open University.
Sally Gunnell
We’re thrilled to announce our second star speaker, Sally Gunnell! A Gold medal Olympian and powerful voice for health and wellbeing across the UK, she’ll be joining us to share her unique perspective on perseverance, balance, and mindset with you.
Sally Gunnell started athletics life as a pentathlete and long jumper with the Essex Ladies’ club. Her explosive power made her a decent junior sprinter and she soon began to concentrate on the 100m hurdles. Gold at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games of 1986 seemed to confirm Gunnell’s prowess at sprint hurdling, but by 1987 she was being encouraged to look at longer distances. In 1989, she took Gold at the European Cup 400m flat race in Gateshead; her speed endurance and mental toughness were becoming apparent. By 1990, she was hurdling again – with great success. She won the 1990 Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles title in Auckland; Gunnell had found her perfect event and grew rapidly in stature.
Tokyo’s 1991 World Championships could so easily have brought her the Gold medal; in the lead at the penultimate hurdle, she glanced across at one of her rivals. That uncharacteristic split second of mental diversion left her with the Silver and a burning sense of disappointment. Gunnell returned to the track’s biggest stage in 1992; the Barcelona Olympics. Months of hard graft paid off, and she progressed to the 400m hurdles final without incident. An indifferent start to the biggest race of her life was soon forgotten as she engaged the Gunnell afterburner to blow away her rivals in the last 150 metres. Olympic Gold and a place in history were hers.
But Gunnell was not finished yet. She worked even harder during the off-season of 1992/3, building in a raft of changes to her nutrition, physical and technical training; nothing was left to chance. Her coach knew exactly how to get her “peaked” in time for the World Championships in Stuttgart and all was going perfectly to plan with a week left. But on arrival in Germany, Gunnell developed a heavy cold. She hid this from her rivals and managed to battle through qualifying and make the final. Such was her state of illness the night before the race that she called a press conference to announce her withdrawal. At the last minute, she had a change of heart and pulled the conference. This proved to be an excellent decision; although feeling well below par, Sally stormed to the Gold, setting a new World Record in the process.
Although her later career was blighted by injury, eventually coming to an end in 1997, Gunnell’s achievements in ’92 and ’93 assured her place in the history books. No other woman has held Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic track titles concurrently and although her world record has been broken by American athlete Kim Batten, her Stuttgart time remains a British record.
Sally became part of the BBC Sport team and was a regular fixture on Athletics programmes throughout the Noughties, until 2006, interviewing athletes on the finish line and bringing the trackside atmosphere into millions of living rooms across the UK. She has appeared in numerous TV shows including A Question of Sport and Total Wipeout. She is a regular on the Breakfast News sofas and conducts hundreds of radio interviews each year.
Today, Sally’s mission is to promote health and well-being for everybody in the UK. She is a passionate supporter of initiatives that encourage families to be more active. Her corporate work, helping companies to bring health and well-being into the workplace, confirm her formidable reputation as an influencer at the highest levels of business.