SHE is the golden girl next door who wore her heart on her sleeve during Love Island.
But since dazzling on Strictly, Tasha Ghouri has had some serious fire in her belly.
It’s not just because the 26-year-old has found her competitive streak.
Her inspirational success is also one in the eye for the bullies who, during the ITV2 dating show, trolled her for being deaf.
Now the North Yorkshire beauty, who has been topping the scoreboard of the BBC One contest almost every week, is enjoying getting her own back.
Ahead of making it to the landmark Blackpool week today, she said: “I’m in my slay era. This era is payback, proving people wrong.
"A lot of people doubted me, and a lot of people didn’t think I’d get far at all.
“This is the moment I can show I never stopped believing in myself, it’s got me to where I am now.”
Tasha has spent her life defying the haters. Born deaf, she and her parents, dad Tarek and mum Nicky, learned sign language.
It wasn’t until she was five that she uttered her first word, after being fitted with a cochlear implant.
Throughout her school years she faced abuse, which only got worse after she stepped into the famous villa in 2022.
Twisted viewers quickly picked up on the fact her voice sounded different because of her disability.
Videos of girls mocking her went viral online, prompting her father to speak out in disgust.
But after seeing the hate-filled posts when she left the show, Tasha — who found love with fellow contestant Andrew Le Page, 29 — used their ignorance to fuel her fighting spirit.
On the abuse she has faced, model Tasha said: “I’ve dealt with cyber bullying. I wasn’t somebody who was getting bullied at school.
"It was mostly online, but how I thought about it at the time was school was not for ever, it’s not my whole life.
Reduced to tears
“I always had that end game, I knew I was going to leave my home town (of Thirsk). I knew I was going to London, that’s what kept me going.
“When I came off Love Island, I had to deal with a lot of people saying stuff about my voice, people tweeting about ripping out my cochlear implant and throwing it in the pool.
“Being brutally honest, there were two girls on TikTok and I still remember to this day, they took the mickey out of my voice and that went viral. It’s still not been taken down.
“That could have really affected my mental health, but actually I used it as fuel to my fire to do better for my community, to educate people.”
It is why, when she was invited to join this year’s Strictly line-up, Tasha knew she had to say yes and use her platform to inform and inspire people watching.
When she and professional dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec did their couple’s choice routine two weeks ago, they used it to celebrate the deaf community.
The pair 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 Tashas 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.”
Tasha added: “It’s so important to me because, when I was growing up, I never had that person to look up to on TV. It’s about breaking down barriers and the stigma around deafness and disability.”
Tasha's challenge
Having graduated from Creative Academy in Slough, Berks, with a first-class honours degree in dance performance, Tasha is a trained dancer, so expectations have been high — and she has not disappointed.
She has already clocked up six top marks from the judges, more tens than any other celebrity on the series so far. But Tasha isn’t letting that go to her head.
She said: “I can’t expect high scores every week, that’s not possible. Every dance style is so different.
"I’ve got to the point now where I’m not thinking too much about the scores or the leaderboard.
“When I started thinking about it, it put pressure on my shoulders.
“I thought, ‘Do you know what? Let’s put that to the back of my mind and focus on the dancing, on putting smiles on people’s faces and having a good time’.
“That’s what it’s really about, going on that dance floor showing all the hard work we’ve done in the week.”
She is yet to score a full 40 points because judge Craig Revel Horwood refuses to dish out the top mark until he sees perfection.
So, as Tasha prepares to perform a Paso Doble at Blackpool’s iconic Tower Ballroom tonight, is she dreaming of finally seeing Craig lift that ten paddle?
“I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, keep working hard,” she said. “If it comes, it comes.
“It’s not something I’m necessarily thinking about, but obviously it would be absolutely amazing to get a ten from him. I just want to prove it to him, I can get that ten mark.”
Speaking about tonight’s show, she added: “Getting here is an absolute dream, to be able to experience the iconic Tower Ballroom.
"Wow. It’s kept my determination going, you know, my strive and how much I really want it. I think us two together as a combination, we both have that drive.
“We want to do well. We want to perform the best we can.
“And so I feel like that’s helped us to get there.”
One person who has been championing her every step and shimmy along the way is her loved-up partner, Andrew.
The real estate agent, who comes from Guernsey, moved in with Tasha in her East London flat just days after the Love Island final.
Earlier this year, the couple bought a detached countryside home they are fixing up together.
Tasha says his support has meant the world to her.
She added: “He’s been great. You know, it’s a lot.
“I don’t see him as much, obviously, because I’m at rehearsals. I go home late, I’m tired.
“He watches it on a Saturday night and will come to rehearsal sometimes.”
The pair have even managed to fit in a double date with Aljaz and his wife, former professional show dancer Janette Manrara, who hosts Strictly’s spin-off series, It Takes Two.
Tasha said: “Andrew has been so supportive throughout it all and I could not ask for anything more.”
She has already hailed him as “the one”, so could a Glitterball trophy and an engagement ring make this Christmas an extra- special one?
With a laugh, she said: “The goal for Strictly, for me, is not necessarily winning.
“Just being in the final would be an absolute honour.
“And an engagement ring? There’s no pressure for that!
“You know, when it happens, it’ll happen. Trust the process.”
- Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One tomorrow night at 6.45pm.
