Chris McCausland: ‘The best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible.’ Photograph: Matt Crockett
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Chris McCausland: ‘The best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible.’ Photograph: Matt Crockett
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing confirms first two contestants including first blind dancer Chris McCausland
The comic’s participation in the BBC competition – alongside ex-JLS member JB Gill – follows the success of the show’s first deaf contestant, Rose Ayling-Ellis, who won the glitterball in 2021
Mimi Ibrahim and Alexi Duggins
Mon 5 Aug 2024 07.45 EDTFirst published on Mon 5 Aug 2024 05.36 EDT
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The comedian Chris McCausland will be the first blind contestant to compete in Strictly Come Dancing when the show returns this year. In a first for the long-running BBC dance competition, which this year marked its 20th anniversary, it confirmed the participation of McCausland, known for playing Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!.
The 46-year-old Liverpudlian comedian lost his eyesight in his early 20s as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition. This diagnosis prompted a career change for McCausland: before joining the entertainment industry, he had worked in web development.
McCausland’s participation [...]