Who is Chris McCausland, BBC show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s’ first blind contestant?

Regarding television dance competitions — Dancing with the Stars and the like — putting yourself in the spotlight as a contestant with no dancing experience takes guts. Not only are you under the scrutiny of high-profile expert judges, but millions of people will be sitting at home watching you every week, with every mistake pointed out.

Now imagine doing it when you can’t see. Well, that’s precisely what’s happening with one contestant on the Saturday night BBC series Strictly Come Dancing in the United Kingdom — and the contestant in question is Chris McCausland, a prominent British comedian and occasional actor.

McCausland is appearing on the twenty-second series of the show, which began on Sep. 14, 2024, and is set to run until Dec. 14, 2024. He’s Strictly’s first-ever blind contestant and has been paired with Australian professional dancer Dianne Buswell. Buswell’s past celebrity partners on the show have been former Communards multi-instrumentalist Reverend Richard Coles, YouTuber Joe Sugg, DJ Dev Griffin, singer Max George, comedian and actor Robert Webb, DJ Tyler West, and actor Bobby Brazier. Her best finish has been second place with Sugg and Brazier, but she has a massive challenge ahead of her if she’s going to replicate that with McCausland.

In the opening show of series 22, McCausland took to the stage for the first time for a group dance alongside his fellow contestants and their partners. He performed fabulously in his bright pink shirt to say he’s a complete beginner who can’t see (the video of the whole dance is embedded above).

So, precisely who is Chris McCausland, what has he done previously, and what caused him to lose his sight?

Chris McCausland’s life, career and blindness explained

Born on June 15, 1977, in Liverpool, England, Chris McCausland had full sight in both eyes. He gained a BSc Honours degree in software engineering, and worked in web development and sales as a young man before becoming famous. However, his sight gradually deteriorated due to retinitis pigmentosa, and he was fully blind by the age of 22.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disorder for which there is no cure. The onset of symptoms — which include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision resulting in tunnel vision — is gradual and generally begins in childhood. While complete blindness is an uncommon end result, it’s certainly possible, as McCausland’s case proves.

McCausland first attempted stand-up comedy in 2003 and hasn’t looked back since. He’s now at a level where he has appeared on and hosted the BBC’s prestigious Live at the Apollo show.

He has since moved into acting, with roles on the likes of the drama series Moving On, the soap opera Eastenders, the sitcom Not Going Out, and a voice role on the animated sitcom Krapopolis. However, he’s probably best known for his role as Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too! (as per IMDb).

The star has also appeared as himself on quiz and panel shows like Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and the reality series Scared of the Dark, in which contestants live in complete darkness for eight days (which was no problem for McCausland, of course!).

He deserves endless praise and admiration for his bravery in taking on such a difficult challenge in Strictly Come Dancing, and we wish him all the best with his efforts.