Inside rise of blind Strictly star Chris McCausland from how he nearly became a real life Bond to ‘winging’ training

COMIC Chris McCausland sashayed on to our screens with a Strictly debut so dazzling, some viewers forgot he was blind.

But until his first performance on the BBC One contest, only fans of stand up comedy and panel shows were familiar with the Scouse funnyman.

He has been plugging away at his TV career on the likes of Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Pointless, but it was his cha-cha with pro partner Dianne Buswell on Saturday that truly captured viewers’ hearts.

And now, with the help of some witty one-liners and lashings of self-deprecation, Chris, 47, hopes to give the troubled BBC One dance contest the kiss of life.

The comedian — whose vision problems mean he has never seen Strictly — is already winning over fans in a way never thought possible.

He once admitted: “I didn’t think I could do it, because I literally couldn’t see what’s expected of me. And because I don’t watch it, I don’t have an attachment to the format.

“But I’d rather do something I had no knowledge of than make a show I knew everything about. I’m good at making comedy out of failure, but I’m going to take this seriously.”

Chris’s determination to defy the odds was clear on Saturday night’s live show, when he and Dianne twirled through a routine that would have challenged someone fully-sighted.

Naturally, he was showered with praise on social media.

But Chris insisted: “For me, it’s not inspiring. I don’t think blind people need inspiring as much as representing.

“It’s more for everybody else watching it, who maybe isn’t exposed to somebody blind in their life, who has got these really antiquated ideas.”

After his debut, one fan wrote on X: “Chris McCausland produced a dance that would have been good from anyone in week one, easy at times to forget he is doing that blind.”

It was a response which would have thrilled the comedian, who has revealed: “My attitude has always been to represent by not banging you over the head.

“I think the best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible.”

In Sixties-inspired outfits, Chris and Dianne danced to The Beatles’ Twist and Shout, in a nod to the fact that Chris is a proud Liverpudlian.

The duo were rewarded with a very respectable 23 points out of 40, prompting bookies to instantly slash their odds of winning, making Chris second favourite.

Of course, not every move they attempted in rehearsals went to plan, as he told co-host Claudia Winkleman at the weekend.

Chris said: “Dianne kicked me in the head one day. I did not avoid or anticipate it. If there was any doubt I have more sight than I was letting on, I stood there and took a foot right in the face.”

But it was a rare hiccup in a training regime that has so far worked amazingly well.

Although the pair admit they are “winging it”, they have found a way through.

Explaining one technique they have adopted, Dianne said: “I can’t show him what something needs to look like. I’ve found Chris places his hand on my body and feels how my arms and my legs are moving and then he instantly gets an idea of what he should be doing.

I started applying for crazy stuff, just for a laugh — so I applied to MI5. They need to recruit just like anyone else

Chris McCausland

“Normally, I would show someone something, whether it’s footwork or an arm position. Chris is going to elevate how I teach. I might say, ‘a bowling ball action’ or ‘paint a picture’.”

Before the start of Strictly, Chris admitted: “We’ll make it up as we go along and figure it out.

“Sometimes I believe it would be better for me to feel where my partner’s legs are going, and other times I believe it would be preferable for her to simply place my leg where it belongs.”

Chris has lost his sight to rare retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition he was diagnosed with aged 22.

In an interview, he explained: “My grandmother had it, and my mum. Basically, I’d been going blind very slowly since I was born, and so didn’t even really notice it happening.”

And never one to shy away from a challenge, Chris has embraced some pretty exciting opportunities throughout his life.

He recalled: “I started applying for crazy stuff, just for a laugh — so I applied to MI5. They need to recruit just like anyone else. They have a graduate scheme and they were looking for spies. So I put my application in.

“I don’t know if I am allowed to say this, but a spy isn’t a James Bond character. A spy is somebody who runs agents, members of the public with information.

“So you’ve got to go out and meet them in staked-out locations and trade information, and that’s what they were looking for.

“I put the application in and, before you know it, I was down to the last 30 out of 3,000 before they came to their senses.

“I went through a lot of different stages, from the psychometric tests through to a full-day assessment, where I had to sift through all this information and identify the threat and have a meeting with the surveillance team. I did quite well.”

But he admitted: “Basically, if there had been a bomb, it would have taken me a little bit too long to find out who had it.”

“I don’t want to live in a country that would give me that job! Sometimes I think discrimination is perfectly acceptable.”

After being forced to give up a job in IT due to his failing eyesight, Chris turned his hand to comedy full time and incorporated life experiences into his routines.

Over the past five years, his biggest gig has been on Channel 4 show Scared of the Dark with Danny Dyer and Chris Eubank – a format which plunged eight celebs into total darkness for eight days.

He is also a regular on telly panel shows, including Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You? and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

We’ll make it up as we go along and figure it out. Sometimes I believe it would be better for me to feel where my partner’s legs are going, and other times I believe it would be preferable for her to simply place my leg where it belongs

Chris McCausland

And he has proved himself a dab hand at game shows after appearances on Celebrity Mastermind, Celebrity The Chase and Celebrity Pointless.

Chris has also performed at the Royal Variety Performance and as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee show.

But he sometimes feels like his career has been a slow burner, ad mitting: “In comedy especially, you need experience to be able to react in the moment.

“I joke that I’m an overnight success, 20 years in the making. I’ve been gigging non-stop since my 20s, relentlessly hammering the circuit. So when TV opportunities come along, I’ve had the confidence to be myself and enjoy it.”

It was partly thanks to comedy that Chris met his beloved wife Pauline, who works in television.

She was making a programme about the Edinburgh Festival, where Chris frequently performed.

He said: “We’ve been together for 16 years now, and got married in 2012 after I’d proposed during a Pearl Jam concert at Hyde Park — rock and roll!”

The couple have a daughter Sophie, 10, who wasn’t the most encouraging when her Dad told her he was being lined up for Strictly.

Chris said: “I asked her if I should do it. ‘No, Daddy’, she said. ‘You’ll fall off the stage and break your leg’. She’s a joker at heart . . . but she’s got a point.”

Dianne kicked me in the head one day. I did not avoid or anticipate it

Chris McCausland

Despite his daughter’s doubts, Chris has embraced the entire Strictly experience.

That includes the obligatory spray tan which all celebrities receive — even if he did he start on the lowest setting.

He said: “I went mild because I’ve never had one.

“I’ve never been in a sun bed. I don’t even sit in the sun when I’m away. I’m quite self-conscious.

“I thought I might as well jump in and leave my inhibitions at the door. Most of it washed away, so you can’t really tell now. I’ve upgraded to slightly human.

“Next time, I need to get a tan where you can actually tell I’ve had one.”