Comic Chris McCausland has made a shock admission about his time on Strictly Come Dancing. Throughout the 2024 collection of the BBC competitors present, the 48-year-old, paired with Dianne Buswell, danced all the best way to the finale and even lifted the coveted glitterball trophy in a monumental win for the present. Chris grew to become Strictly’s first blind contestant to look on the competitors and finally make historical past because the present’s first blind winner. All through the collection, the comic opened up about shedding his sight at 22, as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye illness.
However, one yr on, Chris has mirrored on his addition to the collection and admitted collaborating was “relentless” as a result of his incapacity. Among the many many struggles he encountered, the star was unable to look again at his performances to enhance his method to raised his probabilities on the present. Chris acknowledged: “I couldn’t watch the movies again to see how I’d achieved on Strictly. Each dance studio has mirrors for a purpose, as a result of it helps to have a look at what you’re doing. I couldn’t have a look at my very own posture and say, ‘Oh yeah, I see what you imply there.’”
Regardless of this, every week, Chris left the viewers, and the panel of judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, and Anton Du Beke impressed.
Amongst a lot of his routines, he carried out a collection of lifts, bringing many to tears together with his triumphant routines as he took to the dance flooring week by week.
Nonetheless, the star revealed he reached the height of problem in week 12, which marked the semi-final, the place the remaining contestants have been tasked with debuting two model new routines.
This included the Charleston, which they carried out to When You’re Smiling by The Blue Vipers Of Brooklyn, and the Viennese Waltz to Metallica’s hit Nothing Else Issues.
Reflecting on the rehearsals, Chris advised The Occasions: “By week 12 of Strictly, I used to be so depleted in each side of my being. I had no resilience left. It broke me down week by week. I can’t consider the rest on TV that’s that exposing, consuming, relentless, pressurised, and beneath that a lot scrutiny.
“What me and Dianne [Buswell] have been capable of do collectively took us without warning. It gave folks one thing joyful to attach with on the present. It felt outstanding to be part of it,” he added.
Along with successful the competitors, the pair additionally received large on the Bafta TV Awards earlier this yr and scooped the gong for Memorable Second in 2025. They received it for his or her unforgettable waltz to You may By no means Stroll Alone throughout the last, which awarded them a complete rating of 116 throughout their three routines.
