Who plays Frankie in EastEnders and is the actress deaf?

EASTENDERS newcomer Frankie Lewis left Mick Carter stunned when she dropped the bombshell that she was his daughter.

Deaf character Frankie - who is played by Rose Ayling Ellis - was first introduced in the BBC One soap to help Ben Mitchell come to terms with his hearing loss. Here's the lowdown on the actress...

What do we know about Frankie actress Rose Ayling-Ellis?

EastEnders' newcomer Frankie is played by deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Rose has previously starred as Bianca Sinclair in Casualty and as Esther in Stephen Poliakoff’s drama Summer of Rockets.

The young star has also appeared in The Vamps music video Middle of the Night and played Kattrin in a modern adaptation of Mother Courage at the Royal exchange Theatre in Manchester.

What was Frankie’s arrival story in EastEnders?

It was first confirmed that Frankie would be joining the EastEnders cast back in February 2020 as Ben struggled to come to terms with his profound loss of hearing following the boat disaster. 

After Callum caught newcomer Frankie shoplifting in the Square, he realised she was deaf and asked her to speak to Ben.

After some persuasion from Callum, Ben allowed Frankie to help him cope with his hearing loss and turn a new corner. 

Is Rose deaf in real-life?

Rose is deaf in real-life, and is fluent in both Sign Spoken English (SSE) and British Sign Language (BSL).

She said prior to joining the soap: "I am so excited to be joining the cast of EastEnders and I am equally proud to be one of the first Deaf actresses to be part of this iconic soap.

"I can’t wait for everyone to meet Frankie!"

Is Mick Frankie's dad in EastEnders?

When Frankie first dropped the bombshell that Mick was her dad, he tried to brush it off with a Star Wars joke and asked if Luke Skywalker was her brother too.

But Frankie had another trick up her sleeve and asked him whether he recognised her mum’s name - Katie Lewis.

The truth was written all over Mick’s face as he heard the name.

So yes, it seems like he really is Frankie's biological dad.