CHRIS McCausland has made history as the first blind contestant to take part in Strictly Come Dancing.
The comedian and TV star was confirmed as the first celebrity for the 2024 series.
Chris, 47, currently hosts his own Saturday morning chat show for ITV: The Chris McCausland Show.
He first came to fame for his role as Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too! and now regularly appears on the UK comedy circuit.
The dad-of-one was on the kids’ show from 2006 until it was cut in 2016.
In 2012 he appeared alongside fellow comedians in Jimmy Carr’s Comedians Special charity episode of Deal or No Deal.
Two years later he starred in Moving On alongside Anna Crilly and Neil Fitzmaurice.
He’s also appeared in EastEnders and Unwrapped with Miranda Hart.
Chris landed a job as a regular panelist on BBC’s Have I Got News For You.
Chris is blind due to retinitis pigmentosa—a condition that impairs vision in low-light conditions.
He lost his sight at the age of 22, and in reflecting on this period, he shared, “When it started happening, it was scary and embarrassing.
“I found myself in difficult situations because I was reluctant to ask for help.
“I knew I would never be on a level playing field with everyone else.
“My eyesight deteriorated significantly while I was at university, and the technology available at that time wasn’t advanced enough, so I had to abandon my career path in web development.”
He applied for MI5 and got down to the final 30 out of 3,000 applicants.
Here are the names ready to head into the famous ballroom amid the chaos.
GK Barry – YouTuber
Dave Fishwick – Millionaire businessman
Chris McCausland – Comedian
Martin Roberts – Homes Under the Hammer host
Danny Cipriani – Retired rugby player
Roman Kemp – The One Show presenter
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso star
Helen Worth – Coronation Street actress
“They were excited at first, and said that this was new territory for them, but in the end they turned me down purely because of my eyesight.
“Fair enough, I suppose.”
He embarked on a comedy career in 2003, with his with his stand-up debut in Balham, London.
Over ten years later he has performed at renowned venues as The Comedy Store, and has taken his act around the world, including Asia and the Middle East.
He performed six stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Festival from 2005 to 2012 and won the Creative Diversity Award for comedy in 2011.
In February 2023, McCausland appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity, and the following year, he returned to radio for Room 101, hosted by Paul Merton.
The soon-to-be-dancer keeps his personal life very private, but is married to Patricia McCausland.
The couple have a daughter called Sophie.
After his Strictly role was announced, the comedian joked: “I don’t dance, I haven’t danced, I can’t dance, I can’t see the dancing I will have to do. What can possibly go wrong?”
This isn’t the first time that someone with a disability has taken part on the show.
In 2021, EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis lifted the glitterball trophy alongside Giovanni Pernice.
She began learning sign language when she was just 18 months old after her mum discovered that she was deaf.
Other Strictly contestants revealed are JLS star JB Gill and Team GB’s Tom Dean.
Strictly’s 20th anniversary special will air next month despite ongoing probes into dancers including Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima over conduct towards partners on the show.
