Strictly’s Chris McCausland reveals he ‘knew nothing’ about BBC series in ‘terrifying’ admission
Chris and Dianne Buswell were crowned the winners of the last season of the BBC dancing competition
Chris and Dianne Buswell after winning Strictly Come Dancing(Image: PA)
Strictly Come Dancing star Chris McCausland has revealed he ‘knew nothing’ about the BBC series as he made a ‘terrifying’ admission.
The blind comedian competed on the BBC dancing competition with professional dancer Dianne Buswell, who is currently expecting her first child with YouTuber Joe Sugg..
Following months of showcasing their skills, Chris and Dianne beat Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, JB Gill and Lauren Oakley, and Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec in the final to take home the Glitterball Trophy.
Despite both of their hectic schedules, Chris and Dianne have remained close friends, even launching their very own podcast together, titled Winning Isn’t Everything.
Chris appeared on the current season of Strictly last month, with him and Dianne recreating their BAFTA TV winning Waltz during the launch show.
The Liverpool native will be appearing on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night (October 31), alongside Oscar nominee Keira Knightley, education activist Malala Yousafzai and The White Lotus’ Aimee Lou Wood.
The episode will see Chris open about Strictly ‘not being on his radar’ prior to him making history on the annual series.
Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland(Image: BBC)
“Strictly was not on my radar, I knew nothing about it, and it was so far out of my comfort zone. It was intense and terrifying and because of that, I couldn’t be prouder,” he said.
Chris went totally blind at the age of 22 due to a condition called retinitis pigmentosa. but explained that he found the loss of his sight surprisingly ‘interesting’ to address in his new memoir Keep Laughing.
He explained: “There are three distinct things that have happened to me so far – I lost my sight, I became a comedian, and then Strictly, which is such a positive end to the part of my story.
“I thought going blind would be the hardest part to talk about, but I actually found it the most interesting bit. Talking about being a comedian was hard to make original.”
Chris previously spoke about the pride he felt in representing disabled people on mainstream TV and his hopes that he inspires those with physical challenges to realise there are ‘no limits’ in terms of what they can accomplish.
He told the Metro newspaper earlier this year: “It really is an honour to represent those of us with a disability on one of the biggest shows on the telly. There are no limits to what we can do. Although, I do have somebody else do the driving on tour.”
One thing that left Chris surprised about Strictly was how physical it is, expressing his surprise that more contestants do not get injured because of the show’s ‘relentless’ nature.
He explained: “You start like you’re an athlete and you’re not an athlete. It’s eight hours a day, six days a week – it’s relentless. The first few weeks you pick up injuries that relate to the dance you’re doing.
“The jive – you feel like you’ve been on a mule for a week. The first time you do a bit of ballroom – your knees take it because you’re not used to it. It’s amazing more people don’t get injured permanently on that show.”
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday, October 31, at 10.40pm
