2 weeks ago
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Strictly's Chris McCausland has become a fan favourite on the show (Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing favourite Chris McCausland’s daughter begged him not to sign up for the BBC competition – in fear that he would “fall off the stage and break his leg.”
The blind comic said his 11-year-old child Sophie worried about the star “making a fool of himself” in front of millions of fans tuning in to the show every Saturday night.
But the 47-year-old has smashed expectations and made it all the way through to the eighth week in the competition with his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell.
It’s fair to say he has proved that he is no comedy act, with bookies placing him in the top spot to swipe the Glitterball next month.
Ahead of last night’s show, the star opened up about his daughter’s fears when he first stepped on to the famous ballroom.
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The comic admitted his daughter begged him not to join the show (Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Speaking to The Sun, he confessed: “My daughter is like me – I think she uses comedy to maybe hide her true worries sometimes. She was joking to maybe hide her true worries sometimes.
“She was joking, ‘Oh yeah, you will probably fall off the stage and break your leg and ha, ha, ha.” It comes after fiery redhead Dianne was almost forced to pull out of their performance hours before the show due to ill health.
A source said: “Dianne wasn’t feeling very well and was sick during rehearsals on Saturday. She didn’t want to let Chris down, so rested for the afternoon and managed to pull through for the live show.”
The Liverpudlian comic lost his sight at the age of 22 due to a hereditary genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa, a condition passed down from his mother.
She feared he would "break his leg" in the competition (Image: PA)
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Chris, who has been married to wife Patricia for 12 years, added: “I do think there was a concern there. It is my job to look after Sophie and raise her. But I do think she does worry about me.
“But there is an anxiety of looking silly or making a fool of yourself and being embarrassed. Maybe she was a little bit worried about me doing that on the telly.
“She is still nervous every week, but she has not got on board with it and she is embracing it now.” Chris has been partnered with the Australian beauty, who immediately got the seal of approval by Sophie when she went to see them practicing the tango in the training room last week.
The funnyman added: “Her favourite dances have been to Wayne’s World and her second was the zombie one.” The pair performed the samba during Halloween week to the hit single Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees that awarded them 26 out of a possible 40 points.
At the time, ballroom judges Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke complained the dance had “too much bounce.” But Chris responded: “My daughter didn’t care that my samba was bouncy.”
He also confessed that he had turned down BBC bosses “a few times” before he finally agreed to take part in Strictly’s 20th anniversary series this year.
Chris admitted: "I think the biggest thing I will get out of it is that it is going to take a lot more to scare me in the future.
"Coming into it, I was of the opinion that often the scariest things I have done professionally have been the most rewarding, and this was off the charts in terms of my fear going into it. I said no to this quite a few times because of that fear - but it has been worth facing it."
English (US) ·