Tasha Ghouri joins line-up for new series of Pilgrimage
Former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri has signed up to appear in the upcoming series of the BBC religious reality show Pilgrimage.
Tasha Ghouri has signed up to star in Pilgrimage.
The former Love Island contestant will feature in the line-up of the new series of the BBC Two religious programme, which sees stars go on a journey where their faith and values are put to the test.
The upcoming series of Pilgrimage is the first to be made in England as the celebrities will trekking through Northumberland - an area considered pivotal in spreading Christianity.
An insider told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "A former Love Islander with no apparent religious leanings isn't the obvious choice for a show exploring faith.
"But then that's part of the point, because it brings together people from certain religions, or no religions, and the journey the go on sparks deeper discussions about their differing world views.
"Though it all sounds rather heavy, viewers have lapped up the show since it launched seven years ago and it's delivered some tender and funny moments of telly.
"Though it will be a particular culture shock for Tasha as the windswept coast of Northumberland will be a far cry from the poolside of the Love Island villa."
Tasha - who was born deaf and has had a cochlear implant since the age of five - explained how the success of the deaf former EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 gave her the confidence to sign up for Love Island the following year.
The 27-year-old star said: "Rose was the first person I saw on TV that was similar to me.
"I thought that was amazing and seeing her on Strictly gave me the confidence to do Love Island."
Tasha - who reached the final of Strictly herself last year - has lamented the lack of disability representation on popular reality TV shows.
She said: "There is such a lack of representation on TV.
"There is still negativity around cochlear implants and deafness. It is still overlooked but there is still a long way to go, not just with deafness but with any kind of disability.
"I want to see more of it on TV to normalise it."
Tasha revealed that she was able to help a young girl with a cochlear implant after the child saw her dancing alongside Aljaz Skorjanec on the BBC's Saturday night favourite.
The star - who split from her boyfriend and fellow Love Islander Andrew Le Page earlier this year - said: "People were sending drawings in of how they were decorating their cochlear implants and that is the power of representation.
"I got a message from a six-year-old after I did Strictly saying that I had helped her with her cochlear implant, so that is why it is incredible to do things like that."
