Strictly star Chris McCausland's devastating blindness diagnosis aged just 22 (original) (raw)
How did Strictly's Chris McCausland go blind at 22 as star makes history on BBC show
Strictly Come Dancing star, Chris McCausland, was given a heartbreaking diagnosis, aged 22, which would change the inspirational comedian's life forever
Strictly Come Dancing star, Chris McCausland, will make history tonight as the show's first blind contestant
Strictly Come Dancing star, Chris McCausland, will make history tonight as the show's first blind contestant.
The inspirational comedian, 47, is gearing up to strut his stuff in sequins this evening (September 14) and fans can't wait to see the the father-of-one in action. However, 25 years ago, Chris was given a heartbreaking diagnosis, which would change his life forever, making something like Strictly seem like an impossible dream.
The comedian lost his sight aged 22 due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of rare eye diseases that affect the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye). RP makes cells in the retina break down slowly over time, causing vision loss.
Strictly Come Dancing star, Chris MacCausland, was given a heartbreaking diagnosis, aged just 22 (
Image:
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
The comedian admitted he was 'winging it' ahead of his live debut on Striclty (
Image:
BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Speaking to the i newspaper about losing his sight, Chris shared: “My grandmother had it, and my mum. Basically, I’d been going blind very slowly since I was born, and so didn’t even really notice it happening – like,” he adds, “the frog in the pan of boiling water".
He added: “They say that when you lose your sight, your hearing gets better. It doesn’t. But you do pay more attention to it. So when you’re sat at a beach resort, and you’re hot, and you can’t see what’s around you, then you just end up concentrating on how hot you actually are. I suffer more for it."
In the Channel 4 series Scared of the Dark, Chris spoke openly about his experience of going blind, explaining that he can “still see light and space” and has “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”.
The star has now signed up for Strictly as the series' first ever blind contestant and admitted to the Mirror and other media ahead of the show’s launch, that he was "winging it", which he says is the "best way".
Explaining that his professional partner on the show has never taught someone who is blind, he said: “We’re just gonna have to figure it out as we go along. The production team are just being really flexible. My dance partner is figuring out how to teach me. And we are winging it. That’s the best way I think.”
Speaking about his rehearsal experience so far, Chris explained that adapting to wearing new dancing shoes was the first hurdle. He shared: “The part of the problem for me is wearing shoes that I’m not used to walking in,” he said. “I can’t feel the floor through the shoes properly.”
Chris also explained that producers had originally offered to have a representative from an organisation teaching people with visual impairments help co-ordinate training between himself and his partner. However, he admitted he "didn't like the idea" and said that he was up for "blundering his way through" training.
He said: "They suggested it and I didn’t like the idea to be honest," he told us. "In my opinion, the point of it is for my partner to learn how to teach me and me to learn a dance from her and that’s for us to figure it out together. We’ll make mistakes and we’ll have a laugh along the way and that’ll make for better VTs in the week, really."
Reflecting on representing disability on screen, the comedian believes that it can be more impactful when it is subtle. Chris shared on Scared of the Dark: “My attitude has always been to represent by not banging you over the head. |I think the best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible. It’s always part of you."
* The news series of Strictly starts on September 14 at 7.20pm on BBC One
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