The comedian was the first-ever blind contestant to take part in the hit show and won alongside professional dance partner Dianne Buswell
News Jessica Sansome TV and Celebrity Editor 15:05, 18 Apr 2025
Chris McCausland has said what 'there was no point' in doing when he signed up to Strictly Come Dancing as he spoke about the experience months on from his winning moment.
The comedian was the first-ever blind contestant to take part in the hit show and alongside professional dance partner Dianne Buswell, the pair took on the BBC One dance contest's 2024 series and captured the hearts of the nation.
After 13 weeks of dancing and being voted through by the millions of viewers, the pair were eventually crowned Strictly's latest champions at the end of the show's 20th anniversary series following the glittering grand final in December.
After Tess Daly announced them as this year's winners, Chris cried and hugged his partner Dianne, with them both appearing to be in disbelief, before they were celebrated by their co-stars.
Chris has now been heard chatting in a new interview about his Strictly journey and explained how taking to the dance floor wasn't his dream like it is for some who sign up for the show.
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He told Kate Thornton how he said no to appearing on Strictly "quite a lot of times" before finally being “persuaded" to appear in the famous ballroom.
Speaking on her podcast, White Wine Question Time, Chris said: "When I went on to that show, there was no point in me pretending that it'd been a dream. You know, you get people going on like, 'Oh, I've always wanted to be on Strictly. We watch it every week. We have Strictly parties'.
"I'd never watched it. What's the point? That was kind of what I said. What's the point in me watching people dancing and so I had to be persuaded to do it.
"I'd said no to it quite a lot of times because I thought it could be a disaster. And so, there was no point in me pretending that it was this dream to be on it."
Chris also told how his young daughter thought it would be "impossible" for her dad to take part in Strictly. The 47-year-old shared: "She was terrified.
"She didn't think I could do it... She was so anxious about me doing [it]. And I think she fed off my anxiety because I was anxious, and I tried to hide it."
And speaking of his daughter, Sophie, Chris spoke to Kate about how he finally understands what she looks like thanks to AI. He said: "It’s been a game changer.
"AI now has offered just such an access to information and visual information that I've never had in that I can pass it into photographs. I can even get a video feed running and talk to it, and it will describe things to me.
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"I can put a photograph in and it'll tell me that she's stood there with a mouth agape in wonder, and her eyes wide, and she's the corners of her mouth are smiling, and she's doing a silly pose or whatever. And it's like these things in the photographs that you miss out on that are a little bit more, you know, a little bit simpler. But everybody else takes for granted."
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