Strictly's Chris McCausland shares daughter's cute reaction to his win

Blind comedian Chris McCausland lifted the Glitterball Trophy in the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday night - but if his daughter has her way, it won't be getting displayed in the downstairs loo

Chris McCausland's daughter has earmarked the perfect spot for the Strictly Glitterball Trophy - a shelf on her bedroom.

On Saturday, the 47-year-old became the first ever blind contestant to win Strictly Come Dancing, waltzing to victory with Australian pro Dianne Buswell, 35. He told The Telegraph that although Sophie, 11, was initially concerned that he might hurt himself during the programme, she is now full of pride - and keen to get her mitts on the famed prize.

He said: “She was more interested in when the trophy was coming home than when I was.”

Chris added that Strictly bosses had been eager to sign him up for the show for years, but he had always declined - until his wife Patricia made him realise it could be a brilliant move for the wider blind community.

He said: “There was an opportunity to be the first person who was blind in the show, and to be able to represent an entire population. I knew I could represent well, because I wouldn’t do it with sob stories or negativity – I would make it a positive experience, with comedy.”

He definitely provided plenty of humour during his 13 weeks on the show. As he lifted the Strictly glitterball on Saturday night, he quipped he'd feared being sent home in week one - despite knowing no celebs actually leave in the opening show.

“I know no-one goes out in the first week but I thought I still could,” he laughed. Chris dedicated his win to Dianne, 35, who joined the show in 2017, adding: “This is for her, and it’s for everyone out there who has been told that they couldn't do something, or thought they couldn’t do something. It just shows that with the right opportunity, and support, and determination - anything can happen.”

Dianne insisted: “Chris says this is for me but it’s not for me, it’s for both of us. Chris and I did this together.

"This was a dream and the dream has come true. It’s the best feeling in the world. I’m just so proud.”

Head judge Shirley Ballas quickly shut down those moaning that Chris was not as strong a dancer as the other finalists JB Gill, Sarah Hadland and Tasha Ghouri - all of whom looked genuinely thrilled by his win on the night.

Experts reckon the comedian - whose stand-up tour is entitled Yonks in reference to how long he’s been doing it - could cash in on his success to the tune of £1million, after the voting public fell in love with him.

More than eight million people watched him win the show on Saturday night, beating fellow finalists Tasha Ghouri, JB Gill and Sarah Hadland. Strictly 2024 got off to a weak start back in September with the launch episode pulling in just 7.1million viewers - down from the 7.8 million viewers that watched the 2023 launch. And while numbers have improved for the finale, they were still down.

According to reports, the last episode of the season attracted a peak viewership of 9.3 million, but with an average viewership of 8.6 million. Last year, the 2024 season - won by Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and dancer Vito Coppola - pulled in a peak of 9.7 million and average of 8.8 million.

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