Strictly’s Chris McCausland details learning to dance as a blind man
Chris McCausland has been opening up about the start of his Strictly journey!
The comedian and TV star has signed up for this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing. After losing his sight at the age of 22 due to a hereditary eye disease, Chris will be Strictly’s first ever blind contestant.
Now, ahead of Strictly’s 20th anniversary series, Chris has been explaining how the show will work for him as a blind man.
Speaking to the media, the 47-year-old admitted that he “wasn’t keen on the idea” of joining Strictly.
“I was like, ‘Nah, I can’t do that, that’s ridiculous what are they on? That’s a stupid question!’ But I said the same thing about my ITV show that I was doing – are they mad? Can’t see the autocues, I’ll never know where the cameras are, what are they thinking,” he recalled.
“This is so far out of my comfort zone that it’s gonna be an experience and I can’t see, but for me, it’s about if I’m able to do things that people wouldn’t think that I would be able to do and that I wouldn’t think I would be able to do, that’s represented in a positive way,” he praised, later teasing: “It could be a disaster, couldn’t it!”
Chris then went on to share how his training has been going so far.
“They are just being really flexible, it’s one of those things where I’ve never seen the show and I can’t go back and watch it and I don’t know what’s involved. We’re going to just have to figure it out as we go along,” he stated.
“I don’t know what’s expected of me. So they are just being really flexible, my dance partner is figuring out how to teach me and we are winging it,” he added.
However, Chris went on to confess that he is struggling with his dance shoes.
“I can’t feel the floor through the shoes properly. There are a lot of things that I think make this more complicated. If it wasn’t on live telly that would be a good thing as well!” he joked.
Strictly returns this Saturday (September 14) on BBC One at 7:20pm.
