Comedian Chris McCausland and his dance partner Dianne Buswell have won the 2024 season of Strictly Come Dancing.
Chris, who lost his vision aged 22 to the hereditary condition retinitis pigmentosa, is the show’s first blind winner.
In a recent Telegraph interview, the comic was named “the man who saved Strictly” during a turbulent year for the show, to which he replied, “I hope the BBC appreciates it.”
We hope so too, as training and life skills organisation World Services For The Blind shared on their site that “representation in media for the blind and visually impaired is scarce... And if it is there, oftentimes it’s not accurate.”
They add, “Historically, disability has been something society has seen as uncomfortable and a version of humanity to hide away.”
So, we thought we’d speak to sight loss charities the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB), BlindAid, and the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) about Chris’ success.
Lily Rose, the RSBC’s external affairs director, told HuffPost UK that Chris’ win has shattered inaccurate beliefs about what people with sight loss are capable of.
“Chris has debunked those outdated stereotypes and misconceptions and shown every week that ― with the right structure and support in place ― anything is possible, and anyone can achieve their potential,” she said.
“It’s massive for RSBC’s community ― for a blind or partially sighted young person, or for their family ― to see someone like them take on a challenge like Strictly and go on to win,” she added. “We’re so thrilled for Chris and Dianne.”
Debbie Miller, Director of Customer Advice & Support at the RNIB, seems to agree, saying: “Everyone’s experience with sight loss is different, and we all have our own unique challenges to overcome.”
“Chris said a couple of weeks ago about the need to go beyond our comfort zones to see what we can achieve and what he and Dianne have accomplished on Strictly, and for representation, is a true demonstration of what can be possible.”
So, while she says we’ll miss seeing the comedian on our screens, Debbie adds: “The representation on Strictly this year, with the casting of Chris McCausland and Tasha Ghouri, has left an immeasurable positive impact.”
“It highlights the importance of diversity and has sparked so many positive conversations, which is what we need to raise awareness and dispel myths about living with a disability. We hope to see more of it.”
Molly Richards, BlindAid’s community projects manager, added: “At BlindAid, we have the privilege of meeting so many amazing service users who are visually impaired, and are deeply inspired by Chris’s achievements.”
“His success has reminded the nation to never underestimate the talent and skill a person can hold regardless of their disability.”
In a recent Instagram post, Chris’ dance partner Dianne Buswell shared that working with the comedian taught her the importance of accommodating different needs and reframing how she sees her sport.
“My teaching style was 90% visual,” she said in the post.
“I wouldn’t want to teach in a room without mirrors because it was the way I perfected things. With Chris, we had to find different ways of making it work. And this is what Chris is brilliant at he is a problem solver and he taught me to think outside the box.”
She added, “Just because there’s an obstacle in the way doesn’t mean you can’t get to the destination successfully.”
Here’s hoping Chris’ win teaches more people not to let our limitations and lack of accommodations get in the way of others’ success.
As Molly from BlindAid told us, “At our BlindAid Community Projects, we support our service users by offering experts in their fields ― yoga tutors, technology teachers and artists ― all of whom have visual impairments.”
“Chris McCausland’s Strictly journey is a powerful reminder that with the right support, no barrier is too great to overcome.”
