Is Chris McCausland the man to SAVE Strictly? How the comedian overcame sight loss and a shock career change to find marital bliss and TV success – with fans tipping him to win scandal-plagued show after a slew of viral gags

Chris McCausland is just hours away from making his debut on the Strictly dancefloor this weekend, with the comic, partnered with Dianne Buswell, hoping to win over the judges with his skills.

But it seems that the comedian, 47, has already won over viewers before his performance has begun, having left them in hysterics with a string of viral gags.

Despite Strictly bosses’ attempts to keep its launch free of drama following a string of abuse accusations, Chris stunned viewers, and his co-stars alike, with a brutal gag about the NHS.

The funnyman has previously detailed how he made a shock career change after losing his sight 20 years ago, forcing him to give up his job as a web developer.

After finding success with his role in the cBeebies series Me Too, he’s become a fixture of the comedy scene.

Chris has also offered insight into how he’s juggled marital life and fatherhood with his condition, admitting that going blind even made him doubt whether he wanted to start a family.

While he’s already tickled viewers with his comedy quips, Strictly fans are hoping that he can also impress with his moves.

On Saturday, he’ll take to the floor for the first time, dancing a Cha Cha to Twist and Shout by The Beatles, joining fellow celebrity contestants Nick Knowles, Tasha Ghouri and Pete Wicks.

MailOnline takes a look at how Chris could be the man to save Strictly, in a year that’s seen the once-glittering BBC show plagued with drama…

Losing his sight

Chris started losing his sight 20 years ago, between the ages of 16 and 21, due to retinitis pigmentosa, a condition which according to the NHS, sees sufferers lose their sight as the light-sensing cells of the retina gradually deteriorate.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina – the light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. 

The NHS website explains that people with RP lose their vision as light-sensing cells of the retina gradually deteriorate.

It is generally characterised by a black pigmented appearance of the retina when a specialist looks inside the eyes. 

Speaking about his visual impairment previously while taking part in Channel 4 series Scared of the Dark, Chris explained: ‘I’m blind but I don’t see black. 

‘I still see light and space, I still have an awareness of the space around me, not in terms of objects and things, but in terms of the room and whether there might be something in front of me.

‘It just gives you that awareness that you’re taking that away from me. I’m a slave to my iPhone like everybody else. So on paper you go, ‘Well, I should nail this,’ but in one area I should be more practically adjusted.

‘It’ll be quite interesting to see how quickly everybody else gets to that point. I’m quite looking forward to being the most able bodied person for a while. It doesn’t happen often.’

Career change

After losing his sight, Chris was forced to give up his job as a web developer, saying in 2012: ‘I used to be a web site developer but my eyesight got worse and worse and the websites just got uglier and uglier. 

‘I decided that nobody wanted an ugly website and so made the decision to get out of IT completely. 

‘I ended up working in a call centre for a while just until I could figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and it was while I was there that I dared myself to give stand-up comedy a go… and here we are nine years later!’

After trying his hand in comedy during a new act comedy night in 2003, Chris was soon recognised for his humour after winning the Jongleurs J2O Last Laugh competition, before gaining recognition in other competitions. 

His career soon skyrocketed, going to to have a seven-year stint at the Edinburgh Fringe and an appearance on Live At The Apollo in 2018, before continuing on to make several TV appearances.

In a 2021 interview with The Guardian, Chris shared that he also applied to be a spy with MI5, but ended up failing to make the cut due to his eyesight.

‘I got down to the last 30 out of 3,000 for MI5 selection,’ he said.

‘Eventually, I got refused because of my eyesight. Fair play. It’s perfectly acceptable to discriminate for the safety of the nation. The job was identifying and targeting terrorist threats, which obviously you need to do in a limited amount of time.’

TV success

While pursuing his stand-up career, Chris also made one of his first TV appearances in the cBeebies show Me Too! as Rudi the market trader.

The series aired on the channel from 2006 to 2008, and since then Chris has been a regular face on flagship comedy shows like Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, QI, The Last Leg, and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. 

The TV star has also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his pal and fellow comedian Donna Preston, as well as an episode of EastEnders.

While just last year, he was a contestant on Channel 4’s Scared of the Dark, and this year he is set to be the first ever blind contestant to appear on Strictly.

Family Life

While Chris shares little of his family life on social media, he is father to a daughter called Sophie, with his wife Patricia, and they reside in Surbiton.

He recently confessed that having children ‘terrified him’ as he worried he wouldn’t be able to do things properly and would be a ‘half dad’. 

Speaking in an interview with Gyles Brandreth, Chris explained: ‘I was in such a dilemma about it because I knew I would regret not having kids, but the thought of having kids terrified me.

‘I want to be good at things, I want to do things I’m good at, which is why I didn’t end up being a website designer. I would have done it, but I wouldn’t have been as good as I could have been if I could see what I was doing.  

And that idea of doing something to a lower standard because of my eyesight ultimately stops me from doing a lot of things that I’ve enjoyed. Even football, blind people play football. If I can’t play football properly I didn’t want to play football.’

Making Strictly history

In August, Chris became the first ever blind contestant to sign up for Strictly, with the funnyman himself admitting he ‘can’t dance.’ 

‘If anybody out there is thinking – How the hell is he going to do that? – then rest assured that I am thinking exactly the same thing.

‘I don’t dance, I haven’t danced, I can’t dance, I can’t see the dancing I will have to do. What can possibly go wrong? Ok don’t answer that…!’

During last week’s launch, it was revealed that Chris has been paired with Dianne Buswell, and the pair will perform the Cha Cha during the first live show of the series.

Viral gags

Even before his dancing debut, Chris has already left viewers in hysterics by making gags that no doubt left many Strictly bosses rattled, with the show currently under investigation amid claims of behind-the-scenes misconduct.

Chris used it as an unlikely platform to reference Britain’s floundering National Health Service and the ongoing battle to secure a face-to-face doctors appointment.

But while the chaos sparked by former contestant Amanda Abbington and her allegations of backstage bullying were swept aside on Saturday, McCausland, 47, aimed a dig at fellow competitor Dr. Punam Krishnan. 

Krishnan, 41, a locum practitioner and former BBC Scotland presenter, was discussing her hectic work schedule with show presenter Tess Daly after being paired with professional dancer Gorka Marquez, when McCausland stepped in. 

‘Dr. Punam! You are going to be continuing your work as a GP whilst doing Strictly,’ Daly said.’So I imagine you’ve got to be a bit creative with the old multi-tasking.’  

‘I’ve got to be!’ she replied. ‘The days are very long and I’m a very literal student.’

Showing off her high-heeled ballroom shoes, Krishnan, whose main focus is podiatry, added: ‘Yes, it’s all about the feet now. So over the years, the only thing I’ve heard is about blisters and blisters getting in the way of dancing.

‘So cream, plasters, you name it, I’ve got it and if it all works I might share.’ 

The admission prompted McCausland to quip: ‘Punam, can I just say that none of us can believe we’ve managed to get in the same room as a GP.’ 

The remark prompted a mixture of laughs and gasps, with TV personality Pete Wicks open-mouthed at the comedian’s light-hearted jibe.

However the apparent joke went down well online, with viewers praising the comedian for his honesty. 

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one approving viewer wrote: ‘I was just waiting for someone to make a joke/comment about seeing a GP.. yes Chris.’ 

While a second added: ‘Chris on fire with the GP joke.’

Elsewhere a third wrote: ‘Chris with his being in the same room as a GP comment. He’s just won #Strictly.’ 

Evidently in agreement, a fourth quipped: ‘@chrismccausland has already won. @TessDaly and @ClaudiaWinkle had better watch out, I think next year’s presenting gig is definitely on the line.’ 

After a year plagued by scandal amid an ongoing BBC misconduct investigation, the show returned with all the bells and whistles on Saturday night as loyal viewers tuned in.

Hilarious social media posts

Since they began training, Dianne and Chris have also amused viewers with a string of tongue-in-cheek clips, which the pair have posted on Instagram.

In one recent clip, Dianne discussed how her father had left a public comment of support on Instagram, with Chris then chiming in: ‘Oh the truth came out!

‘He also said when Dianne was paired with me even though she’s claimed all along she really wanted to be paired to me, that she said to her dad, ”listen dad, winning isn’t everything.”

‘How’s THAT for a vote of confidence?’

Another video showed Dianne asking Chris to feel the length of her thumb, leading him to quip that ‘it gave up growing!’

Many fans are now declaring that they are calling for Chris to win the Glitterball, with posts on X including: ‘Just give the glitterball to Chris McCausland NOW;

‘What a joyous contestant’

Another said: ‘Whoever’s idea it was to try and get Chris McCausland on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing ……. All I can say is ……. It was a stroke of absolute GENIUS.’

A third wrote: ‘idk what his dancing is gonna be, but just for his jokes he deserves to make it far idk’ 

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.