Strictly Come Dancing confirms comedian Chris McCausland will be first blind contestant

The comedian Chris McCausland will be the first blind contestant to compete in Strictly Come Dancing when the show returns later this year. In a first for the long-running BBC dance competition, which this year marked its 20th anniversary, it confirmed the participation of McCausland, known for playing Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!.

The 46-year-old Liverpudlian comedian lost his eyesight in his early 20s as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition. This diagnosis prompted a career change for McCausland: before joining the entertainment industry, he had worked in web development.

McCausland’s participation follows Rose Ayling-Ellis becoming the show’s first deaf contestant in 2021, where she won the competition along with dance professional Giovanni Pernice. At the time, the pair’s win was widely celebrated for raising awareness of the British deaf community and breaking barriers in the dance world.

In an interview last year, McCausland shared his views on representation of disabilities in the media with the Guardian: “I think the best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible. It’s always part of you. People are interested, you let them in and laugh about it. But if you can do a show, where, say, 80% of it isn’t about being blind, that makes it more impactful and funnier when you do talk about it. I believe in representation within the mainstream.”

Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year with its 22nd series. It follows weeks of accusations about the show’s behind-the-scenes practices. Pernice left the show amid allegations about his teaching methods, following Amanda Abbington’s departure, despite him publicly stating that: “I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.” His 2016 dance partner TV presenter Laura Whitmore then made a public statement, claiming she had been subject to “inappropriate behaviour” and that the series demonstrated “a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop”.

In July, Italian dancer Graziano Di Prima confirmed he was the second professional to leave Strictly amid a BBC investigation into his conduct on the show. He failed to deny kicking the TV personality Zara McDermott, with his spokesperson Mark Borkowski telling BBC News: “There is never a time when kicking or any sense of that is right. And he knows that. He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”

Strictly staff have also spoken out about their treatment on the series as well. Their complaints detail a “toxic” work culture featuring cruelty, sexism and the BBC failing to take their complaints seriously. The BBC responded: “We do not recognise the claims relating to a negative workplace culture.”