Model and dancer Tasha Ghouri to be Love Island's first deaf contestant

Tasha calls it her 'super power'.

Amy Sedghi
By Amy Sedghi
published

Love it or hate it, Love Island will be returning to our screens in a matter of days. The ITV dating show which follows a bunch of young, sculpted contestants on a quest to find love, build relationships and get a good tan - all in a picturesque villa setting - is back for its eighth series.

The show has been criticised in the past for its lack of racial diversity, an absence of different body types and for inaccurately reflecting disability.

While the show has a long way to go - and some are already calling out the lack of diversity in the upcoming series - this year's line up features Love Island's first ever deaf contestant.

Dancer and model, Tasha Ghouri from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, has sensory loss, due to the small hairs in the cochlear being damaged or missing when she was born.

A photo posted by on

Speaking about her upcoming stint on the show, Ghouri says that her friends and family think she is 'inspirational' because of how open she is about her cochlear implant.

In an explainer on her Instagram, Ghouri goes into detail about what she calls her "super power", stating that visibility has always been her driving force.

She says that she and her whole family learned sign language when she was young, but that as she got older, she became less reliant on it because of the cochlear implant and learning to lip read.

A photo posted by on

Answering the question: 'what is the difference between a hearing aid and a cochlear implant?', Ghouri explains:

"Hearing aids simply amplify sound, but if the brain can't understand the noise, it's just noise. The implant has small fibre optics pushed into the cochlear to replace the missing hairs that stimulate the fluid and send intelligent messages to my brain. The outer part is a computer that is programmed for the frequency of my loss."

Another question she anticipates people asking is: 'Can I hear anything and what do people sound like?' - again, Ghouri has stepped in with an answer: "When the outer piece of my device is taken off I cannot hear anything. I feel beats and vibrations.

People sound a little robotic but my brain has adapted to it and I also rely on lip reading and body language."

Commenting on why she'd chosen to go on Love Island, Ghouri said: "My dating life has been a shambles. This is an opportunity for me to find ‘the one’ and have a great summer at the same time. I’m definitely ready for a relationship."

Ghouri's involvement with the popular dating show has seen a wave of support towards the 23-year-old. Responding to the news of Ghouri entering the Love Island villa, Annie Harris, at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said: "We are really pleased that another major TV show is featuring a deaf contestant. Representation matters."

Love Island will return to ITV on Monday 6th June, 2022.

Amy Sedghi
Amy Sedghi

Amy Sedghi is a freelance journalist, specialising in health and fitness, travel, beauty, sustainability and cycling.

Having started her career in The Guardian newsroom working with an award-winning team, Amy's proud to have reported on a variety of topics, speaking to a range of voices and travelling far and wide to do so. From interviews on ski lifts to writing up breaking stories outside courtrooms, Amy is used to reporting from a range of locations (she’s even been known to type up a story in a tent).

She also loves being active, spending time outdoors and travelling - with some of her favourite features she’s worked on combining all three. Cycling and eating her way round the Isle of Man, learning to sail on the Côte d'Azur and traversing the Caminito del Rey path in Spain are just some of her highlights.

Covering a diverse range of subjects appeals to Amy. One minute she may be writing about her online styling session with Katie Holmes’ stylist and the next she’s transporting readers to the basketball courts of Haringey where she joined a group trying to lower knife crime in the capital.

While at university, Amy was awarded The Media Society bursary. Following her stint at the Guardian, Amy worked at Google and as well as writing for Marie Claire, she regularly contributes interviews, features and articles to National Geographic Traveller, The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, Stylist, Refinery29, Glorious Sport, Cycling Weekly and Rouleur.

When she’s not writing, Amy can be found trying to get through her towering stack of books-to-read, cycling down at Herne Hill Velodrome or looking for the next place to eat and drink with friends.

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