Jodie Ounsley is competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special – but how did she lose her hearing?
The professional rugby player is also best known for appearing in Gladiators as Fury and she is completely deaf in both ears.
Jodie, 24, uses a cochlear implant to hear but she is also an expert lip reader.
Here’s everything you need to know about Strictly star Jodie’s journey, including when her parents discovered she was deaf and how she copes day to day.
Strictly Christmas Special: How did Jodie Ounsley lose her hearing?
Jodie – aka Fury – was born prematurely. The medication she was given in order to survive unfortunately had an adverse affect on her hearing, meaning she is now profoundly deaf in both ears.
When Jodie was just 14 months old she was fitted with a cochlear implant. The electric device bypasses her ears and sends signals to her brain, which means she can pick up sounds.
A magnet has been fitted under Jodie’s scalp, which enables her to wear her implant on the side of her head.
Jodie previously told the World Rugby Women podcast that she attended a specialist preschool. There, she underwent intensive rehabilitation and speech therapy.
She explained: “When I did go to school I went around the playground telling people I had a robot ear. I genuinely thought they had cut my ear off and put a new one on. I didn’t have any clue of implants or even hearing aids.
“Everyone loved it at school. When I found out that wasn’t real, I was like ‘Oh…!'”
Jodie added: “I am profoundly deaf, which means there is no hearing left whatsoever on both sides. Without my implant there is nothing there.”
What school did Jodie go to?
Jodie was able to attend mainstream school in West Yorkshire. But she says she had contestant speech therapy and help with lip reading.
She has not learned sign language but says she might consider it in the future.
Jodie also told the podcast: “I am constantly looking at my parents’ mouths and how their lip patterns move. Different accents have different lip patterns.
“With my parents, I can just have my implant off and have a conversation without hearing them because I know their lip patterns so well. But if it was someone with a Scottish accent, for example, I have to concentrate more.”
Jodie’s rugby and sporting achievements
Jodie discovered she had a sporting talent at the annual World Coal Carrying Championships in Yorkshire. She ended up winning the contest five times, having won the first time aged three!
Jodie’s later father, who tragically died in October, is a former professional jiu-jitsu champ and she began training with him. Her talent was huge and she went on to win gold at the British Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu finals.
And that’s not all!
In 2015, Jodie began playing rugby and within a year she was representing Yorkshire in its Under-15s team. Jodie then caught the eye of the England squad and joined the Under 18s team.
By 2017, she had earned her first England rugby sevens cap. It made her the first deaf person to play for the female side and she was later offered a full-time England contract.
Jodie was included in the GB Women rugby sevens provisional squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She has also won Deaf Sports Personality of the Year.
Jodie wore a scrum cap during her rugby days to protect her cochlear implant. She hung up her boots in 2024, two years after signing up to the Exeter Chiefs Women.
Jodie as Gladiator Fury
Jodie joined the cast of Gladiators when the iconic 90s show was rebooted by the BBC in 2023. She is the first deaf Gladiator in history.
Speaking about being picked for the show, Jodie has since said: “It means the world, it is such an honour. Being deaf and growing up and not seeing many role models… it really means the world.
“I just want to be a good role model and show kids you can be powerful, you can be strong and you can be badass but also be deaf while doing it.
“It’s been heart-warming. I am so passionate to show it is possible.”
What time is the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2025?
You can catch Jodie on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special this evening (Thursday December 25, 2025). The show starts at 5.30pm and runs until 6.45pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Jodie is competing against Westlife’s Brian McFadden, All Saints star Melanie Blatt, Gogglebox’s Scarlett Moffatt, actor Nicholas Bailey and comedian Babatunde Aléshé. She is partnered with Neil Jones.
Judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke will pick this year’s winner at the end of the pre-recorded show.
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