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Chris McCausland on going blind and winning Strictly Come Dancing

The Strictly Come Dancing winner always knew that he, like his mum and sister, would one day go blind. He tells Laura Pullman how he went off the rails, stumbled into comedy and found his dancing feet

When he lifted the glitterball trophy in December — beating the boy band singer JB Gill, the actress Sarah Hadland and the former Love Islander Tasha Ghouri — there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Dianne Buswell, his bouncy Australian coach, had taught him each week’s dances — cha-cha-chas, paso dobles, waltzes and quicksteps — through describing the movements in depth and sometimes physically lifting McCausland’s feet to place them correctly. Although now comfortable in his skin, McCausland has never used a white cane: “Never really had the confidence, I think, because I shunned the idea for so long.” He had a guide dog for a few years — a black labrador called Jenkins — but was forced to return him after his daughter was born and the lab became overly protective.

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