On television, she is best known for her role as Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2020–2022) and for winning the 19th series of Strictly Come Dancing with Giovanni Pernice in 2021; she was the programme's first deaf contestant.

[4][5] She then joined the Deafinitely Youth Theatre, and concurrently studied fashion design at the University for the Creative Arts graduating in 2016.

[22] In week eight, their Couple's Choice contemporary dance featured a rumba with an added period of silence as a tribute to the deaf community.

Described by judge Anton Du Beke as "the greatest thing I've ever seen on the show",[23][24] it earned them the 2021 Heat Unmissables Award for TV Moment of the Year.

[26] In May 2022, Ayling-Ellis became the first celebrity to sign a bedtime story on CBeebies, telling the tale of Raymond Antrobus's 2020 children's picture book Can Bears Ski?.

[28][29][30] She worked with Mattel during the production of the doll, and featured in the promotional campaign "Rose, Barbie & Friends".

[33] In an interview with the National Deaf Children's Society, Ayling-Ellis explained that she often has to perform using Sign-supported English (SSE) to reflect her own communication style and make it clear to audiences.

[34][35] Ayling-Ellis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for voluntary services to the deaf community.

On the programme, she discovered that her fourth great-grandfather, Pasquel Lyons, was born in Italy and likely emigrated to England during the Napoleonic Wars.