Comedian Chris McCausland became the first ever blind contestant to win the long-running competition Strictly Come Dancing alongside his professional partner Dianne Buswell.
As 2024 came to an end, BBC viewers were left teary-eyed as they witnessed a historic moment on Strictly Come Dancing. Comedian Chris McCausland became the first blind contestant to clinch victory in the popular dance show, alongside his professional partner Dianne Buswell.
On Monday’s episode of This Morning, Chris joined hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley to discuss his journey on the show. Interestingly, during the summer before he was officially announced as part of the line-up, he skillfully dodged any questions about his participation from the same hosts.
The presenters played an old clip where Chris was asked about the rumours of his involvement in Strictly. At that time, the 47-year-old admitted that it would be a significant challenge for him.
In the clip, Chris said: “I don’t know if I’m logistically capable of doing it. It’s live TV, can I be taught to do something I can’t even see what it is they’re trying to teach me?”
As the video ended, Ben was quick to commend Chris’ dance partner Dianne for her exceptional work in training the visually impaired comedian, reports the Mirror.
Strictly’s Chris McCausland admits Dianne remarks ‘winded me up’ during competition (Image: ITV)
Chris responded: “Incredible, but this is what winds me up. When we started it, everybody was like, ‘Ah, isn’t Chris amazing? How is he doing this? This is remarkable!’
“At about six or seven shows in, it all changed to, ‘How’s Dianne doing this?’ I thought, ‘Hang on, what about me?!’ Ben and Cat burst into laughter at Chris’ comments, aware it was all in good humour.
Reflecting on his first live performance, the former Strictly champion revealed the sheer terror he felt stepping onto the dance floor. He said: “The fear I had in that first show, I’d never experienced anything like it.”
Chris appeared on This Morning to speak about his time on Strictly Come Dancing (Image: ITV)
He continued, describing the intense preparation with his dance partner: “I didn’t know whether it was possible, so we’d learnt the dance in a room on our own and I could hear her existing around me, just with footsteps and everything, even just her breathing. Then, when you’re in that room with the music and audience, I’m just going to lose all of that.”
Despite the initial trepidation, Chris wowed everyone with his progress, becoming a favourite with both judges and viewers.
However, fans will miss him on the Strictly Come Dancing tour as he has prior commitments with his own tour, which clashes with the dates. He admitted that there was an assumption he wouldn’t last long enough in the competition to participate in the tour, leading to scheduling conflicts.
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell won Strictly Come Dancing in 2024 (Image: BBC)
Chris elaborated on the tough decision, stating that he had already rescheduled his tour for Strictly and couldn’t do it again for the tour. He expressed mixed emotions, saying: “It’s fine to have two different feelings about the same thing.”
While he regrets missing out on further dances with Dianne, he also feels fortunate for his stand-up career, adding: “I would’ve loved to have done more dancing with Dianne and it would’ve been a lot of fun, but also I’m very lucky to have people want to watch me do stand-up and I’m enjoying getting back into that.”
