Strictly Come Dancing star Chris McCausland has hit back at Lord Alan Sugar over his recent “gimmick” remark.
On Saturday night (October 12), comedian Chris and his professional partner Dianne Buswell performed a salsa routine to ‘Down Under’ by Men at Work, which scored an impressive 30 points.
Shirley Ballas praised him for “flawlessly” executing a series of jaw-dropping lifts, while Anton Du Beke branded the routine “one of the most remarkable things” he’s ever seen.
Despite the judges’ high praise, Sugar took to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday to share a scathing critique of the dance.
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“I don’t know when Strictly Come Dancing are going to run out of contestant gimmicks,” he wrote. “I would not be surprised if they had an AI mechanical robot next year.”
Fans quickly took to the comments section to share their disapproval over the remark, with Chris himself later responding: “I am sorry my gimmick offends you oh mighty Lord #YoureTired.”
Shortly after the dance, viewers took to social media to share how “inspired” they felt by Chris’s determination and talent, while others praised Dianne for her teaching abilities.
“Just how incredibly inspirational is Chris McCausland, he is blind and he can do this. Please keep him in the competition, he is AWESOME and those LIFTS,” one person wrote.
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“Just letting everyone know that Chris who is COMPLETELY BLIND just smashed out a Salsa in week 4!!! Those lifts!!! Dianne the woman you are!!” another added.
A third fan similarly commented: “If you actually sit back and admire what effort Chris is going to every week to perform like this as a blind person – truly remarkable.”
Sunday’s results show saw DIY SOS star Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk become the third couple to leave the competition, after losing the dance-off to former Coronation Street star Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu.
“I’ve really, really been surprised by how much I’ve loved doing it,” Nick said after his exit, while Luba praised her partner’s determination to keep going following his recent injuries.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.