Strictly’s Chris McCausland is well known for his jovial personality and wicked sense of humour but losing his sight took him to a ‘painful’ and ‘embarrassing’ place.
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland has blown away viewers and judges on the BBC talent show with his courage and determination as the first blind contestant to take part in the competition. Partnered with professional dancer Dianne Buswell , Chris has shown it’s possible to learn the gruelling routines despite his disability and has even been tipped to lift the Glitterball Trophy.
The 47 year old comedian, who is a regular on shows such as Have I Got News For You and QI, has been determined to compete without any extra help too. He revealed he turned down an idea from show bosses to ask the audience to be silent so he could hear where Diane was in relation to him. "It was a nice offer", Chris said, but he continued: "I'd rather go out in a blaze of glory in two weeks than do eight weeks in silence."
Last year the CBeebies actor revealed how he didn’t want to ask for any assistance when he first started to lose his sight but how it left him struggling at times. He appeared in Channel 4 ’s Scared of the Dark, in which eight celebrities, including presenter Scarlett Moffatt, boxer Chris Eubank and former footballer Paul Gascoigne, were plunged into total darkness for eight days while trying to complete challenges.
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Channel 4 / Scared of the Dark)The Wanted’s Max George asked him how he dealt with going blind mentally and if it had been tough. Chris replied: "Frustrating, embarrassing, because you get into situations that you probably wouldn’t have got into if you’d accepted your situation more. I got myself into bad situations because I didn't want to ask for help. I will never be on a level playing field with everyone else."
Chris started to lose his sight over 20 years ago due to the hereditary condition, retinitis pigmentosa. According to the National Eye Institute, early symptoms include loss of night vision and side vision, while vision loss and blindness comes later. The organisation says the condition "makes cells in the retina break down slowly over time, causing vision loss". As of yet, there is no cure of retinitis pigmentosa.
Love Island ’s Chloe Burrows asked him if his eyes hurt when the condition first started to take hold and he confirmed it was painful. "Yes, yes," he replied. "I used to get headaches because your eyes are straining to see more than they can see. And I used to get these little light shows that would happen as well. I haven’t really been able to see anything for over 20 years."
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Channel 4 / Scared of the Dark)Last year, Chris also told iNews how the condition had affected him since he was a baby: "My grandmother had it, and my mum. Basically, I'd been going blind very slowly since I was born, and so didn't even really notice it happening. Like the frog in the pan of boiling water," he said.
He went on to describe his experience of blindness, saying: "They say that when you lose your sight, your hearing gets better. It doesn't. But you do pay more attention to it. So when you're sat at a beach resort, and you're hot, and you can't see what's around you, then you just end up concentrating on how hot you actually are. I suffer more for it."
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