For 10 interminable seconds on Saturday night TV, the lights went out. Thankfully, it was deliberate. The Couple’s Choice routine performed on Strictly Come Dancing by blind comedian Chris McCausland included a “blackout moment”, where he danced in the dark to immerse viewers in his sightless world. It was a powerful and poignant interlude which was hailed by the judges as “absolutely spectacular”.
This spine-tingling piece of television was reminiscent of the silent dance performed by actor Rose Ayling-Ellis, the show’s first deaf participant, in 2021. That routine would be voted Bafta’s Must-See Moment – as well as garnering a spot in our own hall of hoofing fame – and Ayling-Ellis went on to lift the glitterball trophy.
Well, we’re calling it now. This year’s grand final might be more than a month away but McCausland will do the same, dancing to victory on a wave of positivity. In the process, he might just help save the entire Strictly franchise.
All summer, the BBC ratings juggernaut was mired in scandal. Two male professionals, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, left under a cloud following complaints from their celebrity partners of abusive behaviour. A BBC spokesperson confirmed that Zara McDermott had been kicked by Di Prima, while the BBC upheld Amanda Abbington’s accusation of verbal bullying by Pernice. Independent inquiries were launched. Safeguarding measures were introduced.
For a while there, the mirrorball lost its shine. There was even speculation that the current series might not go ahead at all. When it launched as planned in September, the field had a noticeable gender skew, with nine male celebrities but only six females – an indication that producers had found it harder than usual to cast women.
Suddenly, all eyes were on the ballroom, alert for any sign of trouble. And then came the “handgate” incident between opera singer Wynne Evans and his dance partner Katya Jones, where she brushed his hand away as he put it around her waist, before snubbing his attempted high-five. The couple later said they did it as a joke, but not before the naysayers pounced, gleefully declaring that the BBC’s flagship franchise was dead.
However, they reckoned without the inspired casting of McCausland. Paired with irrepressible Australian professional dancer Dianne Buswell, his infectious humour and miraculous progress have helped Strictly repair its reputation. To the surprise of everyone, especially himself, the first ever blind contestant has become the ballroom blockbuster’s breakout star.
Due to a hereditary condition, retinitis pigmentosa, McCausland lost his sight completely at age 22, promoting a change of career direction. He tried standup at open mic nights in his mid-20s and is now a panel-show regular. I was lucky enough to interview him last year and he told me: “I’m an overnight success, 20 years in the making.”
Unveiled as part of the Strictly 2024 lineup, McCausland got in all the self-deprecating gags first. The 47-year-old said he “didn’t know a pasodoble from a panna cotta”, joked about the BBC taking out extra insurance against breakages and admitted that his 10-year-old daughter was worried he’d fall off stage on primetime TV.
Instead, he’s creating on-screen magic. McCausland told me that blindness “doesn’t so much heighten your other senses as make you pay more attention to them”. He relies on hearing, touch and muscle memory to learn routines. Buswell has demonstrated patience and imagination when it comes to multisensory teaching techniques. She wore a blindfold in rehearsals to better appreciate what her partner faces. The trust between the pair has created true connection and chemistry.
BBC producers offered to keep the audience quiet during his live dances so McCausland could still hear Buswell in the noisy studio. He graciously declined. “I want the crowd to be entertained and not have the electric atmosphere flattened to accommodate me,” he insisted.
Week after week, he has wowed viewers by combining confident showmanship with unforgiving choreography. His first full routine – a Beatles cha cha in which he used Buswell’s leg as an air guitar and slid across the floor on his knees – was a revelation. Judge Anton Du Beke called it “one of the most extraordinary things I’ve seen in my entire life”.
McCausland went viral for his waltz to Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, moving head judge Shirley Ballas to tears when he walked solo across the dancefloor into Dianne’s arms. As a vinyl junkie and metalhead, he rocked the ballroom with a Wayne’s World-themed jive and a Kiss tango. Each week, experts are flabbergasted by how the couple do it – not least their fearless, flawlessly executed lifts.
Then came Saturday’s crowd-pleaser – a jazzy musical theatre number, performed in white top hat and tails, set to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by fellow scouser John Lennon. McCausland described it as a bid to “represent the blind community, showing them that more is possible and everyone can shine as brightly as each other”.
Crucially, he refuses to take it all too seriously. When Strictly was attracting front-page headlines, many seemed to forget that this just was a celebrity dancing competition. With his laconic wit and rapid-fire repartee, McCausland treats Strictly as what it is: escapist light entertainment. He teases Buswell and answers back to the judges. He told Craig Revel Horwood: “I’ll drive you home tonight!” He went hilariously off-script in the first live show, telling fellow contestant Dr Punam Krishan: “None of us can believe we’ve got in the same room as a GP.”
The Liverpudlian comic is currently odds-on favourite to win with bookies. Virtually every eliminated contestant has tipped him to triumph. He tops unofficial votes and online polls every week. He gets the most raucous reception in the Elstree Studios ballroom each Saturday – not least because, after two decades on the comedy circuit, he knows how to work a crowd.
More than two million people in the UK live with sight loss. McCausland has been proudly flying the flag, showing what’s possible, defying stereotypes and changing conversations around disability. The Royal National Institute of Blind People has welcomed this, saying: “It’s brilliant to see greater representation of people with disabilities on reality shows. It’s clear the positive impact this can have.”
McCausland himself told me: “I’ve always believed in representation within the mainstream. Integration rather than segregation.” It doesn’t get much more mainstream than Saturday nights beneath the glitterball.
Sure, there are better dancers in this year’s contest. Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri is the standout, although she falls into the category of “too good”, always a cardinal Strictly sin. Ghouri might be the contest’s top scorer by far – averaging three points per dance more than anyone else – but she’s unlikely to secure enough public votes. Miranda actor Sarah Hadland would also be a worthy winner in any other year.
McCausland looks poised to beat both to the title. Like popular 2020 champion Bill Bailey, he’s a middle-aged funnyman with innate musicality, impish humour and the underdog factor all wrapped up in one grin-inducing package. Just as Bailey’s victory was a tonic during Covid lockdown, McCausland’s win would come as welcome relief amid autumn’s grim news cycle.
Two-time finalist Buswell is also overdue a win. Having finished runner-up with previous partners Joe Sugg and Bobby Brazier, she would be a deserving pro champion. When she and McCausland lift the glitterball trophy on 14 December, as they surely will, it will provide a dose of sheer joy. The euphoria could help Strictly Come Dancing transcend the bullying allegations and restore its feelgood factor in its landmark 20th year. Not bad for “a fella who sits on a stool for a living”.