BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland makes surprise exit admission

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Chris McCausland is still coming to terms with his success on Strictly Come Dancing. As the BBC show's first blind contestant at 47, he has amazed viewers with his stunning routines alongside pro dancer Dianne Buswell.

The public has been charmed by his narrative as Chris quickly became a fan favourite, with many tipping him to win the prestigious Glitterball trophy. Despite the buzz, the Liverpudlian comedian remains modest, telling the ECHO: "When I came into it, I wanted to surprise people, surprise myself and do more than people would think is possible, but that was a pipedream."

He acknowledged the potential for failure, remarking: "There was a chance that it could be a disaster. There was a very real possibility that I could have gone out in the first round. But it's worked and that's not just because of me. It's worked because Dianne has been willing to take risks and been willing to put the hours in."

Chris and Dianne's approach has been ambitious: "We haven't tried to pare it back or dumb it down. We've really tried to wow people and do impressive things. People have loved it and it's all worked so far, but it's surprised me as much as anyone else."

Before joining Strictly, McCausland took on the experience as a bold risk, which aligns with his history of confronting challenges head-on. His comedy career itself began as a self-imposed "dare", reports the Liverpool Echo.

He remarked: "I wasn't a performer, I'd never done drama really and never had any aspirations to perform. But I got the bug and it became a hobby. You put yourself outside of your comfort zone and then that becomes the comfort zone."

"After a while, stand up became the thing I was comfortable at. You still get the tingles of anticipation ahead of a show. You still get nervous from time to time, but it eventually becomes comfortable and feels like just what you do."

"I've been very lucky over the last five years that there has been a lot of opportunities that stand up has opened the door to that have been out of my comfort zone and have brought back that feeling of trepidation, and fear of 'can I do this? '".

Chris, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which led to the loss of his sight at 22, credits his boldness to his upbringing in West Derby during the 1980s. He shared with the ECHO: "My sight was never perfect and it was deteriorating, but I could see. I was just in the street all day, there was no being wrapped in cotton wool."

"It was just get out there and do whatever anybody else was doing. Get in trouble running around West Derby. Climbing up the walls into gardens, playing football and getting up to no good. It was such a normal, risk-taking childhood."

He reminisced: "Back then you had independence in abundance. Because of that you also had interactions with everybody in the street, everybody in the neighbourhood. You knew them because your ball went in the garden. You knew them because you were knocking on their house asking if they wanted their car washing."

"You knew them because they'd tell you to p**s off down the road rather than kicking the ball against the wall. You knew everybody and they all had a sense of humour so you grew up just having a laugh."

Chris attributed this vibrant community spirit as instrumental in shaping his own sense of humour, which has become a hallmark of his life and career. Drawing parallels between his personal journey and the city's resilience, he observed how Liverpool has consistently rebounded from challenges, always emerging stronger and with a grin.

He continued: "With Liverpool, you can say it's been through a lot in its recent history. But it's always been brought together, in my lifetime, by music, football and comedy. That comedy and that sense of humour has always stuck with me."

Despite relocating to Kingston in London for his Software Engineering studies and settling there with his wife, Patricia, and daughter, Sophie, Chris maintains a strong bond with Merseyside. He expressed his enduring affection for his hometown, stating: "You can take the lad out of Liverpool, but you can't take the Liverpool out of the lad."

Chris has paid homage to his Liverpool roots in two previous performances by grooving to The Beatles' classic 'Twist and Shout' and by delivering a poignant Waltz to 'You'll Never Walk Alone. Tonight, he keeps the city at the heart of his dance, presenting the Couple's Choice routine to John Lennon's 'Instant Karma'.

Discussing his journey, he commented: "My story is growing up in Liverpool, losing my sight and getting into comedy and then being able to do [Strictly] and represent that more might be possible than what you would have imagined. The song itself is not a sad song, it's a brilliantly positive, euphoric song."

Emphasising the uplifting nature of his dance number, he said: "The [message of the chorus] says that everybody is as valuable as each other and everybody shines as brightly as the next person. You've just got to be kind to yourself and be kind to everybody else. It's a beautiful message and it's delivered in a very euphoric, poignant way."

As a passionate Liverpool FC supporter, Chris revealed that he cheekily tuned out during the dress rehearsals last week to catch Liverpool clinch a 2-1 victory over Brighton, illustrating his unwavering support for his team. His affection for Liverpool has been matched by the massive support he's received from Merseysiders throughout his stint on the show.

He recounted a memorable incident during his time on the show, saying: "I was sitting in Claudia's area in the studio and I have to pretend I'm watching people dance on the show. I thought I can't be a***d doing that now because Liverpool are playing. I had my earphones in and I was sat up there, while someone was doing a dance, listening to LFCTV and Steve Hunter gave me a shout-out on the commentary. I nearly fell off my chair. Just to hear Ste wishing me luck for Strictly that night was lovely."

Chris expressed that the highlight of his experience was being able to perform You'll Never Walk Alone to a standard that would make Gerry Marsden proud. Speaking to the ECHO, he shared: "She said her dad would have been emotional and proud to see it. If you get a message like that, then you've nailed it, haven't you? It doesn't really matter what the judges say."

Despite his allegiance to Liverpool FC, Chris aimed to resonate with a wider audience and was pleasantly surprised by the reaction from fans of rival teams. He chuckled as he recalled: "You know you've done well when you get messages from Everton and Man United fans going, 'That was actually quite good that. I wanted to hate it, but it was alright.'".

Chris is buzzing to get back on the dance floor tonight, eager for the next leg of his Strictly adventure. Yet, he's not impressed with how the football fixtures have been shuffled for TV broadcasts, risking a clash with his performance.

He quipped: "The show is getting shorter. I'm doing the maths and I think I might miss the first 15 minutes so I'll be doing the dance with my headphones on."

"That's the problem, isn't it? I'm very grateful for the support I've received from the city of Liverpool, but I do not expect anything I've achieved to even come close to people saying, 'Shall we watch that instead of the football? ' Maybe people will have one eye on each, but it's unlucky isn't it? ".

Despite this, Chris would gladly skip the entire Premier League holiday season if it means progressing in the BBC competition. Taking risks is part of his career, yet Strictly has pushed him further out of his comfort zone than ever before.

Chris reveals the poignant reason behind his desire to extend his extraordinary Strictly stint.

He shared: "I've been in here longer than I thought I would be. Everybody goes on about Blackpool, which is next week. Me and Dianne have really had this pipedream of being here the week after Blackpool because her mum and dad are coming from Australia and they haven't seen her dance live for eight years."

The star opened up about the significance of enduring the next fortnight, saying, "If we can get through these next two weeks then we've hit our goal of her being able to have that moment. This is nothing without her, she has got the most out of me and I think it will be nice if we're both able to give something to each other."

They continued with a touch of humour about reaching the significant moment, adding, "If we can get to that moment then stick a fork in me, I'll be done. But certainly, I'm hoping to stay in this for as long as possible."

Tune in to catch more heartfelt performances on Strictly Come Dancing, airing tonight on BBC One at 6.35pm.

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