Chris McCausland is currently the favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing and if the comedian does lift the glitterball trophy, he has his wife to thank.
Chris McCausland turned down Strictly Come Dancing several times (Image: BBC)
It took years for Strictly Come Dancing bosses to convince Chris McCausland to sign up for the BBC competition.
The comedian, 47, turned down the offer several times due to fear and uncertainty. For the Liverpool-born star, who lost his sight in his early 20s due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, it was a huge decision.
But after years of trying, BBC bosses finally sealed the deal. And after weeks of performing and wowing both the audience and the judges, Chris is the current favourite to lift the glitter ball trophy in tonight’s final (December 14).
And Chris has one person to thank for his success – his wife Patricia Mazure – who convinced him to do the show in the first place.
However, one family member who wasn’t so keen was Chris’s 11-year-old daughter Sophie, who feared that her daddy would hurt himself.
Chris’s wife convinced him to sign up for Strictly (Image: PA)
“Patricia always has faith in Chris. He was so worried about not doing his absolute best in the contest, but she never doubted his capabilities,” a friend of the couple told MailOnline.
“She is very private and does not crave the limelight, but don’t be fooled by her silence – she has been with him every step of the way. She is his rock.”
Chris and Patricia met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005. Chris was a rising young stand-up while Patricia, who was born in Brazil, was working as a TV producer for Sky.
Patricia was making a programme about the festival when they began to bond. After spending more time together back in London, romance blossomed between the couple.
Sharing a love of music, Chris took Patricia to see rock band Pearl Jam perform in London’s Hyde Park in 2010. There, Chris vowed that he would propose to Patricia if the rockers played their favourite song, Black.
Chris will perform alongside Dianne Buswell in tonight’s final (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
And they did. Chris proposed to Patricia in the middle of the gig and they tied the knot two years later. In 2013, Chris became a father when Patricia gave birth to their daughter.
Speaking about his wife, Chris said: “We were opposites. I mean, she comes across very British, but she’s Brazilian. I don’t mean this negatively, but her life is chaos in the way that Brazilian people are chaos. It’s a cultural natural attribute they are proud of.
“The number of times she’ll be talking in Portuguese to her mum, and then I’ll say to her: “Are you OK, what happened? It sounds like you’ve had the most horrific argument.” And it turns out they were just talking about what they’re going to do that day.”
He added: “She’s full of energy and took me out of my comfort zone, and I think I just make her laugh. I was almost this calming presence in her life that she was attracted to; it was something she didn’t have.”
Patricia will be supporting Chris from the sidelines when he performs in the final of Strictly Come Dancing this evening alongside professional partner Dianne Buswell.
