STRICTLY has signed up blind comedian Chris McCausland in a new first for the hit show.
It comes after the BBC dance competition featured deaf EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis in 2021 — who went on to win the glitterball trophy.
Comic and CBeebies actor Chris, 46, lost his sight aged 22 due to a hereditary condition.
Producers are certain the 46-year-old CBeebies actor’s fun-loving personality will prove a hit with viewers — and he cannot wait to embrace the challenge.
His appearance on this year’s series will be another first for the boundary-pushing BBC ballroom show, after deaf EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29, triumphed in 2021.
Chris lost his sight completely by the age of 22 due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, and has spoken about the hurdles he faces.
A source said: “Strictly Come Dancing bosses are delighted by the signing and think Chris will be great on the show. He has a hilarious sense of humour and an infectious personality.
“Producers are really keen to showcase disability on TV and are conscious of how important it is. Chris loves working and doing TV so it’s the perfect project. Chris has spoken openly of his sight issues and is determined to show it won’t hold him back on the ballroom dance floor.”
The Liverpool-born star, who has a ten-year-old daughter, Sophie, with wife Patricia, has previously told how gradually losing his sight was “painful”.
He said: “When it started happening it was scary and embarrassing.
“I got myself into bad situations because I didn’t want to ask for help. I will never be on a level playing field with everyone else.”
However our source went on: “He’s been gigging non-stop for decades so is a real pro at performing in front of crowds. He is up for the challenge of learning how to dance and is prepared to put in hard work and long hours in training.
“He’s also hoping to have a lot of fun and raise his profile, like a lot of celebs taking part on Strictly.
“The pro dancers will all want to be partnered with him to embrace a new challenge and a show first.”
Last year Chris appeared as a contestant on Channel 4 reality show Scared of the Dark alongside stars including Paul Gascoigne and Scarlett Moffatt.
In an interview for the show, he told how he has awareness of his surroundings.
He said: “I’m blind but I don’t see black.
“I still see light and space, I still have an awareness of the space around me, not in terms of objects and things, but in terms of the room and whether there might be something in front of me.
“It just gives you that awareness that you’re taking that away from me.
“I’m a slave to my iPhone like everybody else. So on paper you go, ‘Well, I should nail this,’ but in one area I should be more practically adjusted.”
Strictly Come Dancing bosses are delighted by the signing and think Chris will be great on the show
Sun source
After studying software engineering at university in London, Chris became a web developer.
But he recalled: “My eyesight was starting to get very bad at uni, and the technology back then wasn’t what it is now, so I had to get off that particular career path.”
He later tried to become a spy, and almost succeeded.
He recalled: “I applied to MI5, and got down to the final 30 out of 3,000 applicants.
“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.”
Chris is known to children’s TV viewers for his role as Rudi the market trader in CBeebies show Me Too!.
He also fronted Channel 4 travel programme The Wonders of the World I Can’t See and is a regular comedy panellist.
He also hosts Radio 4 series You Heard It Here First.
Chris welcomes more disability being shown on screen, but vowed to never “bang viewers over the head” with his condition.
He said: “It’s great that there’s people coming through who are able to represent disability while also having the experience to do the job properly. There’s no point fast-tracking performers on to TV before they’re ready.
“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. It’s always part of you.
“People are interested, you let them in and laugh about it.
“But if you can do a show where, say, 80 per cent of it isn’t about being blind, that makes it more impactful and funnier when you do talk about it. I believe in representation within the mainstream.
“Integration rather than segregation.
“Don’t have a sketch show with five disabled comedians.
It’s great that there’s people coming through who are able to represent disability while also having the experience to do the job properly
Chris McCausland
“Take those five disabled comedians and put them in five different shows.
“That’s the more powerful way.”
The Royal National Institute of Blind People praised the Strictly signing of Chris.
A spokeswoman told The Sun on Sunday: “It’s brilliant to see greater representation of people with disabilities on reality shows.
‘Step in right direction’
“In 2021, Rose Ayling- Ellis starred on Strictly, Ron Hall and Tasha Ghouri on Love Island, and Libby Clegg on Dancing on Ice.
“It’s a step in the right direction and it’s clear the positive impact this representation can have.”
The BBC declined to comment on Strictly’s line-up for the next series later this year.
US ski star's trend setting
STRICTLY’S American version Dancing with the Stars featured a blind contestant on the show in 2018.
Blind Paralympian ski racer Danelle Umstead, 52, was partnered with pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev, 41.
She had said: “Because I can’t see, I touch Artem’s shoulders or his legs to feel the movement and paint myself a picture. Anything is possible and you just have to go for it.”
She and Artem were eliminated in week two.
But she had said: “I am dancing not only for me, but I do hope to inspire others.
“My motto is: ‘Living My Impossible Every Day.’”