Chris McCausland has achieved national treasure status thanks to his incredible stint on Strictly Come Dancing with his pro partner Dianne Buswell.
The blind comedian, 47, who lost his completely lost his sight age 22, made history as the first blind contestant on the BBC show during its 20th series.
Liverpool-native Chris began losing his vision in his late teens because of a genetic condition he was born with called retinitis pigmentosa.
Chris previously said that when his sight began to deteriorate it was ‘scary and embarrassing’ and he was forced to abandon his original career path.
He has said before: ‘I found myself in difficult situations because I was reluctant to ask for help. I knew I would never be on a level playing field with everyone else.
‘My eyesight deteriorated significantly while I was at university, and the technology available at that time wasn’t advanced enough, so I had to abandon my career path in web development.’
Chris McCausland has achieved national treasure status thanks to his incredible stint on Strictly Come Dancing with his pro partner Dianne Buswell
After his sight loss prompted a change of job direction, Chris worked in sales for a number of years, during which time he first performed stand up in 2003 (pictured during his Seven Strikes show in 2009)
The blind comedian, 47, who lost his completely lost his sight age 22, made history as the first blind contestant on the BBC show during its 20th series
After his sight loss prompted a change of job direction, Chris worked in sales for a number of years, during which time he first performed stand up in 2003.
Born in West Derby Village, Liverpool, Chris started out as a web developer before moving onto sales as his eyesight deteriorated, during which time he started his career in stand-up.
After trying his hand in comedy during a new act comedy night in 2003, he 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 on to have a seven-year stint at the Edinburgh Fringe and an appearance on Live At The Apollo.
Chris has now been a comedian for over two decades and is 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.
During his appearance Chris also spoke about how he is able to ‘still see light and space’ and possesses ‘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’.
Reflecting on losing his sight, he also shared: ‘Yes it was painful. I haven’t been able to see for 20 years. When it started happening it was scary and embarrassing.’
Liverpool-native Chris began losing his vision in his late teens because of a genetic condition he was born with called retinitis pigmentosa (pictured in 1997 age 20)
Born in West Derby Village, Liverpool, Chris started out as a web developer before moving onto sales as his eyesight deteriorated, during which time he started his career in stand-up (pictured during his early years as a stand-up in 2007)
Born in West Derby Village, Liverpool, Chris started out as a web developer before moving onto sales as his eyesight deteriorated, during which time he started his career in stand-up (pictured in 2009)
Chrisstand up show Seven Strikes opened at The Pleasance Courtyard as part of the Edinburgh Festival in August 2009
He also has his very own morning chat show The Chris McCausland Show, which debuted on ITV in June.
For younger viewers, Chris is also known for his role as Rudy in CBeebies series Me Too!
In 2019, Chris performed a stand-up routine during the Royal Variety performance, where he met the Prince and Princess of Wales.
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.
Chris shares a ten-year-old daughter Sophie with wife Patricia (pictured left). The family live in Surbiton, Kent
Chris seen with his family after getting through to the quarter-finals of Strictly with Patricia (left) and their daughter Sophie in November
For younger viewers, Chris is also known for his role as Rudy in CBeebies series Me Too! (pictured)
The TV star has also appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his pal and fellow comedian Donna Preston, as well as an episode of EastEnders (pictured on EastEnders)
Chris appeared in an episode of Moving On in 2014 where he played an old college friend of Jenny, called Dan, who comes to stay
Christ’ comedy career skyrocketed, going on to have a seven-year stint at the Edinburgh Fringe and an appearance on Live At The Apollo (pictured in 2019)
Chris has also appeared on a celebrity version of Countdown
He also has his very own morning chat show The Chris McCausland Show, which debuted on ITV in June (pictured)
‘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.’
Chris shares a ten-year-old daughter Sophie with wife Patricia. The family live in Surbiton, Kent.
Chris took Patricia, who was born in Brazil and moved to the UK as a child, to see Pearl Jam perform in London’s Hyde Park in 2010.
He vowed to himself that he’d propose to her if the rockers played Black. It was in the middle of the gig that Chris did pop the question, and they married in 2012.
Chris regards them as ‘opposites’, and said of his wife: ‘She’s full of energy and took me out of my comfort zone, and I think I just make her laugh.
‘I was almost this calming presence in her life that she was attracted to; it was something she didn’t have.’
In 2019, Chris performed a stand-up routine during the Royal Variety performance, where he met the Prince and Princess of Wales
Prince William and Chris at The Royal Variety Performance in 2021
The Princess of Wales speaking to Chris at the same event
A source told us: ‘Patricia always has faith in Chris. He was so worried about not doing his absolute best in the contest, but she never doubted his capabilities.
‘She is very private and does not crave the limelight, but don’t be fooled by her silence – she has been with him every step of the way. She is his rock.’
Chris prefers to keep his private life under wraps and does not share images of his family on social media.
Despite this, Chris 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.
Chris on a celebrity special of The Chase with host Bradley Walsh 2021
Chris McCausland visits Athens with Harry Hill for their show The Wonders of the World I Can’t See in 2023
Chris teamed up with Lee Mack for Christmas special Bad Tidings this year
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.’
The star continued: ‘The idea of being a parent and all of the things I was going to be unable to do properly. My dad, all the things he used to do with me as a kid, taking me to different places, and the time he put in helping me build things.
‘You go ‘how am I going to be able to do those things – I’m not going to be a proper dad, I’m going to be a half dad’. That kind of really caused me a lot of torment in my head.
‘Weirdly, I think I wanted a girl because of that, because I figured if we got a girl I could be a loving dad, but some of the practical obligations that fall on dads they’d fall more on Patricia because she’d be a girl.
‘There wouldn’t be blokes’ things that I would then not be able to take my son to. But being a dad has been amazing.’
Over the weekend, the comedian and Dianne performed a waltz to ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry and the Pacemakers, earning a score of 35 points.
Previously Chris addressed doubts about how he would manage as the first blind contestant on the BBC dance competition while speaking to The Daily Mail.
Just last year, Chris was a contestant on Channel 4’s Scared of the Dark where he spoke about his experience with going blind (pictured in 2023)
Chris also spoke about how he is able to ‘still see light and space’ and possesses ‘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’ (pictured in 2023)
He joked: ‘All we can do is figure it out as we’re going along because I need to be in it and doing it to see what works and what doesn’t.’
Adding: ‘Everyone’s been really flexible, really supportive, and me and my partner are just figuring out ways for them to teach me and for me to learn.
‘It’s a learning curve and hopefully the mistakes we make along the way will allow us to have a bit of a laugh, make some funny VTs and show the mistakes, because there will be a lot of mistakes along the way, I imagine.’
Before appearing on the programme, despite being the first blind star to appear on the show, he insisted he’s not setting out to ‘inspire’ anyone.
He explained: ‘For me it’s not inspiring. I don’t think blind people need inspiring as much as they need representing. So it’s more for everybody else watching it who maybe isn’t exposed to somebody who’s blind in their life, who has got these really antiquated ideas.
‘I’ve got in a taxi before and someone’s gone ‘oh wow, you did the stairs on your own.’ People think you can’t do anything if you’re blind. So it’s more just showing that more is capable than people imagine. The only problem with that is if I’m s**t, it doesn’t help anybody!’
