The comedian was supported as his incredible journey to the BBC show’s final prompted a change to his scheduled
Chris McCausland was forced to change his schedule as a result of his Strictly Come Dancing success. The Liverpool comedian is the show’s first ever blind contestant and has won the hearts of the nation with his inspiring performances alongside Dianne Buswell.
The 47-year-old is the favourite to lift the glitterball in Saturday’s final. In an interview with the ECHO, Chris admitted he had no idea how his Strictly adventure would pan out and that he would be such a natural on the dancefloor.
He said: “When I came into it, I wanted to surprise people, surprise myself and do more than people would think is possible, but that was a pipedream.
“There was a chance that it could be a disaster. There was a very real possibility that I could have gone out in the first round. But it’s worked and that’s not just because of me. It’s worked because Dianne has been willing to take risks and been willing to put the hours in.
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He added: “We haven’t tried to pare it back or dumb it down. We’ve really tried to wow people and do impressive things. People have loved it and it’s all worked so far, but it’s surprised me as much as anyone else.”
Chris especially didn’t expect to progress to the final stage of the contest as he was booked to perform as part of a comedy gala at the Comedy Store in London last night. However, the venue confirmed he was unable to perform as he has the Strictly final to prepare for.
It said on X: “Sadly there’s no Chris for tonight’s sold out charity show (too much dancing to practice!).” The event was in celebration of Steve Gribbin’s 40 years in comedy and the Scouse comic shared a message of support to his fellow Liverpudlian after the line up change.
He said: “We shall miss @chrismccausland but we wish him every success in @bbcstrictly on Saturday! We have the fabulous Imran Yusuf who has stepped into the breach tonight!!! So looking forward to this whole evening!!!”
The star-studded line-up included Harry Hill, Jack Dee and Angela Barnes. All the proceeds were in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society and Chris shared his message of support for the cause as he admitted he is still in disbelief at his incredible run against the odds in the race for the glitterball.
He re-shared Steve’s message with the post: “Yes, I am really sorry about this. I never in a million years expected to be in the strictly final. What a brilliant evening of stand-up though! Congratulations Gribbo, what an achievement. 40 years and still as fresh and brilliant as ever!”
Chris will take to the dancefloor for the last on Saturday when he performs three dances with Dianne. The last dance will be a nod to his Liverpudlian roots as he will perform the Waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone that stirred the emotions earlier on this season.
The comic is a huge Liverpool FC fan and was tearful while rehearsing the dance for the final. He said: “We rehearsed the waltz and I realised this is going to be the last dance that we do and I imagined it all being over on Saturday and it being the last time that we dance on the show and it upset me.”
Fitting in Strictly amid his busy schedule has been difficult for Chris as he will be unable to perform on the show’s live tour due to his touring commitments. The live tour traditionally includes the fan favourites from the latest season as finalists Ellie Leach, Bobby Brazier and Layton Williams all featured on the 2024 tour. However, Chris won’t be able to continue his Strictly journey with the live tour as he continues his stand up tour, Yonks.
A spokesperson told our sister site, Mirror Online: “Chris has already shifted the dates of his tour to do ‘Strictly’ and that wasn’t an easy thing to do. There were a lot of disappointed people and it was stressful – we got a lot of messages.
They added: “So he couldn’t move them again, absolutely not. Everyone has been very straight about this all the way along the line. It’s a great shame, because he’d love to do the tour, but Chris is not available.
“He said at the point of signing up that he wouldn’t be able to do it, that it wasn’t going to be possible, it was always clear.” The spokesperson added: “The lovely thing is no one could have foreseen just how well it was going to go for him on ‘Strictly’.
“No one thought he’d get this far. But having already moved his tour dates once to accommodate the show, he is unable to do it again. His own tour was pre-planned and came first. There’s no way it can be moved for a second time, that just wouldn’t be fair on his fans.”
The Strictly Come Dancing Live tour is coming to the M&S Bank Arena on January 28 and 29. Sarah Hadland, Shayne Ward and Montell Douglas are the first three celebrities confirmed to be returning for the tour.
Chris’ soaring popularity has prompted him to extend his stand up tour all the way into 2026. Chris is performing in Liverpool on January 31 and February 1 with gigs at the Philharmonic Hall. He recently announced another date on February 1 at the earlier time of 3pm.
