Chris McCausland: Inside first blind Strictly contestant’s journey to the final
He began joking he must be the first contestant who has ‘never watched’ it before, and by the end called it the ‘most rewarding’ thing he has done.
Comedian Chris McCausland’s journey to become the first blind winner of Strictly Come Dancing went from him being a reluctant competitor to a champion of the show.
The Liverpool-born comedian has hosted his own programme on ITV on Saturday mornings and has also featured on panel shows such as Have I Got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown and QI – as well as appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox.
Before taking part in the dancing show, he joked he must be the only contestant to participate in the show who has “never watched” it before, but thought it would be good to be out of his “comfort zone”.
McCausland lost his sight completely by the age of 22 due to retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disease which causes gradual degeneration of the retina.
The actor – who has been on BBC shows Moving On, Me Too!, Not Going Out and EastEnders – being included in the line-up was quickly welcomed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), but he admitted he turned down the show several times in the past.
After being partnered with Australian professional dancer Dianne Buswell, they both admitted they were going to have to “figure out” how logistically performances were going to happen, but soon won plaudits for their well-timed dances.
Anton Du Beke said McCausland’s first routine, a cha cha to Beatles hit Twist And Shout, was “one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever seen in my entire life”, and continued to be astonished by his progress along with his fellow judges.
The next week, McCausland received a standing judges ovation after lifting Buswell during a performance to Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy by The Tams.
Despite the success, he found himself in trouble during Halloween week after the judges placed him joint-last on the leaderboard with Morning Live doctor Dr Punam Krishan.
However, he was saved by the public vote, and scored 29 dancing the tango to Kiss’s Rock And Roll All Nite during the next week, and went on to never find himself in the dreaded dance-off again.
It was in week eight that his blackout performance, imitating his own experience with blindness, went viral.
During a couple’s choice to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon, McCausland could be seen placing his hands over Buswell’s eyes as the room faded to black, before the ballroom went dark.
A few moments later, it was revealed the comedian was spinning Buswell on his shoulders, with pyrotechnics flaring in the background.
The performance received rapturous applause from the audience and a score of 33 from the judges, which he later admitted to the PA news agency was a “leap of faith” and that he did not want to be “cliche”.
He also said he was worried about performing the dance as there was “jeopardy” over how it would represent blind people, and said he did not think people with disabilities need inspiring, but people needed to see them doing things that were “normal”.
McCausland also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “there are quite low expectations of people with disabilities”, citing people questioning whether he can walk down steps on his own.
“People’s ideas of disability can be antiquated,” he added. “I hope (me on Strictly) goes some way to stretching people’s ideas of what is possible.”
He also sailed through Blackpool, where he and Buswell were the 100th Strictly couple to perform in the Tower Ballroom, and during week 10 brought the Australian dancer’s parents to tears when they delivered a fiery paso doble.
After finding out he was through to the final last weekend, McCausland became emotional, saying he “could barely talk”, and admitted it was “knackering”, and the “scariest” thing he has ever done.
Buswell said that McCausland was “hard to crack”, and “hides behind his comedy a lot”, but he had been overcome with emotional at landing a place in the final.
Earlier this week, the comedian told a press conference that “it’s certainly been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done”, and revealed his daughter was initially “nervous” for him in case he fell over and “embarrassed” himself.
As the show has gone on, he said his 11-year-old has been sharing how proud of him she is, and telling him: “It doesn’t matter daddy if you go out because I think you’ve already won.”
