Chris McCausland reveals he turned down BBC documentary spin-off after Strictly trip

BLIND Strictly semi-finalist Chris McCausland has revealed he turned down a request from the BBC to make a behind-the-scenes spin-off show that looked closely at how he learned to dance.

The comedian, 47, also said that one of the reasons he finally accepted the series after previously turning down invitations was because he thought he could better represent the blind with humor rather than a “sad story.”

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But he initially thought he would have such little chance of progressing to the later stages that he was only going to postpone the first leg of his stand-up tour, which coincided with the dance series, and not the later dates.

When asked about the possibility of a more in-depth documentary about how he had progressed with his movements, McCausland said: “Someone has asked since bbc come and film and stuff, and film half an hour and talk to us about it.

“I said ‘no’ because I think it’s a bit of a nasty word, but it ruins the magic a bit for people to see it on TV.

“I’d rather people say ‘how the hell did they do that?’ instead of ‘This is how they did it then.'”

McCausland was persuaded by friends to participate after always being terrified by the idea and having rejected previous attempts to sign him up.

He told his fellow semi-finalist. Pete Wicks on the Staying Relevant podcast: “I acclimated to the idea over time.

“It was an opportunity. If it worked, it would be great to be on TV and represent it in some way.

“I believe in representation, but only if it works.

“A lot of people say, ‘Do you think it’s inspiring for blind people? Blind people don’t see.’ Strictly – I didn’t watch Strictly.

“But I think it’s good that people from all walks of life are seen by everyone else on television.

“It’s a privilege, I guess.

“I knew that maybe if I did it, it wouldn’t all be violins and sad stories. I can do it with a little humor and stuff like that. So I knew I could portray it well, dancing aside.

“Going into episode one, show one, I was shitting myself.”

He said he still turned down Strictly bosses when the offer came because it clashed with his tour dates, but his manager told him he could postpone the gigs, or at least the first ones.

McCausland said: “When we were figuring out the tour dates and moving them around, I was actually looking at it and thinking ‘so these I definitely can’t do, these I probably still could do.’

“And then I made the decision, ‘You know what, move them all,’ because if I’m going to do this, I’m going to have to put 100% into it.

“I had to change the tour to do this, so I actually said no to this year too. The tour was my main excuse, ‘I’m already booked, I can’t do it.'”

He said his success on Strictly has boosted sales of his tour, but that was not his reason for taking part, and could have led to lower ticket sales.

“This has allowed me to sell more tickets at some larger theaters, but the risk was that there would have been a car accident and I would have sold fewer tickets than I was selling before. But we have done it, it worked.

“But also the awareness it has raised. I get messages from schools who are learning about blindness. I’ve had messages from charities saying their income from Christmas raffles and charitable donations has gone up a lot and all they can say is This is it.” awareness about Strictly this year.

“So it’s been worth it on all fronts.”

McCausland added that it wasn’t just him who was terrified by his participation in the show, but his 11-year-old daughter was too.

When asked how she felt, she said: “She’s shitting herself, she’s 11 and I think she fed off my anxiety. I couldn’t hide it, I was terrified.”

“And she was very, very nervous before the first ones and now she’s much better with it. I think I’m confident in it and she’s confident in it.”

The comedian is the favorite to win the 2024 series of Strictly Come Dancing, with a partner Diana Buswell.

Week after week there has been no real contender for him in the winners’ market and the comedian finds himself on top of the odds as each episode progresses.

Despite being in second-to-last place in the rankings last weekend, viewers surpassed them.

McCausland will also star in a new christmas movieBad Tidings, alongside the comedian, actor and presenter Lee Mack.

The story takes place the previous week. Christmas and Stockport home security expert Neil (played by Lee Mack) has a problem with his neighbor.

Scott (played by Chris McCausland) shifts his bins, complains about Neil’s ‘project’ car in his driveway and has had his Christmas lights up all year, shining in Neil’s home office.

When they try to make Scott the new head of Neighborhood Watch, Neil can’t take it anymore.

He questions Scott’s suitability for the role, and in the ensuing dispute, Neil ends up squandering power. For the entire street on Christmas Eve.

The Bad Tidings cast also includes Sarah Alexander, Ben Crompton, Emily Coates, Josiah Eloi, Millie Kiss, Tupele Dorgu, Rich Keeble, Sunil Patel and Donna Preston.

Bad Tidings is available to stream on Sky and the NOW streaming service this Christmas.

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