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As Chris McCausland lights up Strictly, DAVID BLUNKETT - who shares comedian's disability - praises his 'have-a-go' attitude: 'From one blind man to another: Thank you, Chris for brilliantly inspiring the next generation'
DAVID BLUNKETT: For those who are unfamiliar with the comedian Chris McCausland, his appearance on BBC 's Strictly Come Dancing will have come as a revelation.
So, just as the way Channel 4, over a couple of decades now, has opened up the minds and hearts of millions by covering the Paralympics, demonstrating what those with different forms of disability can achieve if given the chance, so Chris is conveying the message that if you have the self-belief to do it, you can pull it off. Earlier, I said that our sight-loss was the only thing we have in common but that isn't true, for I sense in him a tenacity, dare I say pig-headedness – the kind that propelled me from a boy who learned to read Braille to a backbench city councillor in Sheffield, to eight years in Tony Blair's Cabinet. That is why the success of Chris McCausland matters not just to him or to the revival of Strictly – a particularly beleaguered brand at the moment – but to all of us who believe that every single person has something to offer, and a way of making the world a better place.
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