Sir Lenny Henry was ‘very inspired’ to learn sign language by Strictly star Rose Ayling-Ellis

Sir Lenny Henry revealed Strictly Come Dancing 2021 winner Rose Ayling-Ellis was actually the inspiration behind him learning sign language.

Last year, EastEnders star Rose made history joining the ballroom, where she won the glitterball trophy with Giovanni Pernice.

Since then, Rose – who has inspired and won the hearts of the nation – recently teamed up with Barbie to create their first doll with behind-the-ear hearing aids.

Sir Lenny appeared on Lorraine Kelly’s daytime ITV show today, speaking about his second children’s book, The Book of Legends.

Speaking about his new book, the Rings of Power star said: ‘Whenever I read books, I never saw anybody like me, I never saw any kids like me, going on an adventure and fighting a dragon, so I’ve got to a point now where I can write a children’s book.’

‘It’s about time that we had more characters that are usually marginalised in the centre space of storytelling,’ he added.

Sir Lenny Henry spoke about his second children’s book (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

Rose made history on Strictly Come Dancing last year (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)

Elsewhere, Sir Lenny revealed how inspired he was by one of his co-stars Amy Murray, and Rose.

‘And I watched Rose on Strictly, and I was very inspired by her, and I thought maybe I should learn some stuff,’ Sir Lenny shared, after showing off his sign language skills to the camera.

He continued: ‘And I worked with Amy when I was doing The Witcher, and she had signers spotted all over the set, signing on her behalf so she knew what to do next, and I really was inspired by her.’

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Sir Lenny added: ‘And when I told her I was writing a book and one of the kids was deaf, she burst into tears.

‘And she said, “We’re missed out of stories!”

‘It’s about being seen.’

Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV.

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Sir Lenny’s new children’s book features a deaf character.