BBC Strictly's Tasha Ghouri says show is revenge on school bullies who made life hell

Love Island star Tasha Ghouri has opened up about the bullying she endured at school, and how she is now having the last laugh thanks to her success on Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing star Tasha Ghouri is using her success on the show to prove her school bullies wrong.

The 26-year-old Love Island beauty, who is deaf and wears a cochlear implant, was subjected to cruel taunts and cyberbullying as a child, which left her feeling lonely and knocked her confidence. However, Tasha has now turned her life around and is having the last laugh as she dazzles on the dance floor. Se said: "I struggled through school. I had quite a bit of cyberbullying. There were keyboard warriors. The school had to get involved. No one else in my school was deaf. I felt quite lonely."

"My confidence was knocked. It was tough." Despite her difficult past, Tasha is now thriving on Strictly and using her platform to inspire other deaf people, reports the Daily Star. She added: "When I was being bullied, I always thought, 'One day I'll prove you all wrong'."

"So being able to say I've done that with Strictly is amazing. I'm so pleased that I never let the bullies stop me. I'm so much stronger now. That's always been my motivation, to do better and work even harder. In a way I'm thankful I went through all the hard times because it's made me who I am today."

Tasha's TV appearances have even encouraged others to embrace their hearing aids, with some viewers messaging her to say she's given them the confidence to wear their hair up or add sparkles to their devices. She said: "People with hearing aids have messaged me."

"I've had people saying, 'You've given me the confidence to wear my hair up' or 'I've put sparkles on my hearing aid'. That makes me so happy. I want to give people confidence." Last week, Tasha dazzled fans as she gave them a view of her sparkling cochlear implant. Considering her outfits for the live shows are decorated with diamantes and sequins, the implant is nothing short of complimentary. The device enables Tasha - who has sparked a heated 'fix' debate due to her dance background - to hear by electrically stimulating her auditory nerve. She accompanied the picture with a post that read: "woke up feeling such joy @bbcstrictly my first live show complete!

"I am still speechless, sure did feel emotional but was such a surreal feeling what an honour to do it with you @aljazskorjanec ! We went out there and danced like no one was watching, core memory I’ll remember forever. Thank you for being a great teacher and just fabulous.. GET IN!!"

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