Strictly star Chris McCausland reveals biggest misconception about his blindness

Comedian Chris McCausland is unsighted owed to a hereditary condition. Here, the prima explains wherefore his household was determined not to dainty him with kid gloves erstwhile it came to his disability

Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell's classical American Smooth earned them their archetypal tens of the bid connected Strictly Come Dancing.

The regular successful the Blackpool Tower Ballroom prompted caput justice Shirley Ballas to archer Chris, 47, helium had the champion feet she'd seen successful a agelong time. The mates are among the favourites to assistance the Glitterball Trophy with the comic man, the archetypal unsighted contestant successful Strictly history, winning implicit the show's viewers and judges alike.

The prima mislaid his show 20 years agone betwixt the ages of 16 and 22 years aged owed to retinitis pigmentosa, a familial illness that affects the retina's quality to respond to light, starring to a dilatory nonaccomplishment of vision.

Chris's eyesight deteriorated astatine university, meaning helium was incapable to prosecute his longed-for vocation successful web development. Luckily, helium besides had a endowment for stand-up comedy, with his gigs starring to a TV relation playing Rudi successful CBeebies' Me Too! and appearances connected Have I Got News For You.

"Being unsighted wasn't conscionable thing that happened to me, it was hereditary," the comedian told The Big Issue. "Nan was blind, my mum was losing her sight. It was ever treated arsenic conscionable portion of life, truthful you get connected with it and person a laugh."

The prima says inheriting a known information wrong his household "fed into my mode of viewing" his blindness and it's 1 which mightiness not beryllium expected. He explained: "When idiosyncratic has a disablement that comes retired the blue, it is precise casual and understandable for parents to beryllium protective and wrapper them successful fabric wool. There's a worry, there's a panic, there's a deficiency of experience.

"But having it successful the household meant adjacent with maine having mediocre show successful my childhood, I was treated nary different, sent retired playing successful the streets. All that forms your property erstwhile you're older."

The comedian is joined to Patricia, who helium met astatine the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the mates person girl Sophie, 11. He admits the imaginable of becoming a genitor terrified him, telling Gyles Brandreth: "My dad, each the things helium utilized to bash with maine arsenic a kid, taking maine to antithetic places, and the clip helium enactment successful helping maine physique things. You go: 'How americium I going to beryllium capable to bash those things - I'm not going to beryllium a due dad, I'm going to beryllium a fractional dad'."

Luckily, helium recovered fatherhood "amazing" and hasn't looked back. As for the future, helium told The Big Issue: "I did ever think, things are moving truthful fast, we’ve got the net now, surely determination volition beryllium a cure [for his oculus condition] and I'll beryllium capable to spot by the clip I’m 30. I mean 40. I mean… and it conscionable moves connected and on."