What did you miss?
Chris McCausland has admitted he found the long waits on Strictly “unbearable” before celebs started getting eliminated.
The comedian lost his sight 24 years ago at 22 because of hereditary condition Retinitis Pigmentosa and is making history as the first blind contestant on the BBC ballroom show. He has been open about experiencing butterflies in the competition, previously saying his nerves in the first show were “through the roof”.
And he has now shared how tough it is waiting and waiting to dance on Saturday’s shows.
What, how and why?
McCausland and his pro partner Dianne Buswell closed the programme on Saturday night, with a dazzling performance that saw everything go dark, raising awareness of blindness.
When host Janetta Manara asked what it was like to perform last, McCausland joked that it was “so much better than opening”, which he has previously said was “horrible” in its own way. And he suggested it was a lot better now that so many celebs have been handed their marching orders.
“When we first started this I was like, thirteenth out of 15,” he said. “And when you have never done it before, that wait is unbearable. What are we down to, eight or nine or something like that?” “That’s old school half way isn’t it?” he laughed.
What else did Chris McCausland say on It Takes Two?
McCausland also talked about how much more he enjoyed his latest routine, a couple’s choice to Instant Karma!, saying the Samba and Tango in the weeks before had been trickier.
Read more: Strictly
“So to be able to kind of just let go and be a lot freer,” he said. “But we still worked on posture didn’t we?” he said to Buswell. “She didn’t let me off, she was like, ‘It’s all about shapes Chris.’
“But yes it was really freeing and it was lovely being able to smile and bring a bit of joy back into it.”
He said the point of his latest performance was “to be positive and joyous”.
“Having a disability isn’t a sob story,” said the star. “It’s about celebrating people’s abilities and a lot of people out there can have low expectations of what is possible so it was really about that putting that across and it being a joyful experience.
“The thing with the darkness was really, it wasn’t about putting Dianne into the dark, it was about putting the audience and viewers into the dark and surprising them with what is possible coming out of the darkness. I am really happy with how it was received, because it really seemed to connect and touch people.”
Strictly: It Takes Two airs on BBC Two at 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One at 6.45pm on Saturday.