Strictly's Chris McCausland leaves viewers in tears as he spots voting 'problem'

BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland pointed out a 'problem' with his routine on Saturday night's show

Strictly Come Dancing fans were left in fits of laughter as comedian Chris McCausland pointed out a scheduling conflict during tonight's episode. The Liverpool-born funnyman returned to the dance floor for the second week of the beloved BBC competition.

Joined by his dance partner, Dianne Buswell, they performed a Foxtrot to 'Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy'. At 47, Chris is the first blind contestant on the show and viewers were blown away by his remarkable performance.

Fans following the show on social media platform X hailed Chris as an inspiration, expressing their hopes for him to win this season. Tom posted: "Chris is my winner. His skill is outstanding and makes it look effortless."

Sarah wrote: "Chris needs to win this, he's on the Bill Bailey arc of 'genuine beginner to joyful dancer'."

Anna added: "Chris making me well up at the TV every week with pride", reports the Liverpool Echo.

Imogen shared: "I still get emotional when Chris last night said on Dianne's vid diaries that he feels left out when he's literally the SOUL of the show this series" Becca commented: "Why do I always have a lump in my throat watching Chris dance? That was beautiful! ".

However, Chris humorously noted he was at a disadvantage due to his dance coinciding with Liverpool FC's match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. The comic took to the dance floor in the final moments as Arne Slot's team secured a 2 - 1 victory, moving them to the top of the table.

After his dance on the show, Claudia couldn't contain her laughter when she asked Chris about his feelings following his performance. He admitted, "I'm not happy to be honest as they've put me on 10 minutes before the Liverpool game ends. That's half of Liverpool watching the football, that's half of my core voter group."

Despite his concerns, Chris delivered a sensational performance that wowed the judges and earned him a high score. Securing a total of 29 points from the esteemed panel comprised of Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, and Anton Du Beke, he certainly made an impact.

West Derby's own Chris has carved out a name for himself in the comedy scene since 2003. Born with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), he lost his sight at the age of 22.

Prior to his visual decline, Chris worked as a web designer, but as his condition worsened, he sought a new direction in life.

In a reflective discussion with the ECHO back in 2016, he shared: "When I finished uni I focused on designing websites, but then my eyesight started deteriorating and I had enough. I knocked it on the head and tried to find something else to do. I was unemployed for maybe a year and a half and in the end I got a job doing business sales. It was really, really boring stuff - just filling the time until I figured out what I properly wanted to do."

He continued, recounting a significant turning point: "Then, when I was 26, I got shingles and was signed off from work for two weeks. I was bored out of my head and as a dare from myself I decided to have a go at stand-up."

Revealing his experiences of first stepping on stage, he recounted: "I don't think it could have been scarier. I didn't eat a thing all day and just paced around my flat. I'd never been a public speaker, I have no drama experience or anything."

"It was in this venue in Balham, south London. I was quite lucky because it went well - in fact the first ten or so gigs I did went well. Then after that I played some gigs which were so bad that if they'd been my first gig I would have never done stand-up again. Those first few gigs really gave me the stand-up bug and I've been doing it ever since."

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Reflecting on his burgeoning career, which now includes hosting his own Saturday morning chat show and several TV appearances, he expressed gratitude for those nerve-racking early performances: "None of this would have been possible if he didn't dare himself to get up on stage," he said in an interview with the ECHO.

Discussing how comedy has opened new doors, he shared: "The thing with comedy though is that once you start doing it it opens a lot of doors to other things. Last year I acted in a BBC1 Jimmy McGovern drama called 'Moving On', set in Liverpool."

Chris divulged details about branching out into acting, despite being a novice: "I'd never done straight acting before but I enjoyed doing it. It's good to do something as part of a team as stand-up's quite solitary. I used a computer to learn my lines. Everything talks these days - they just email me stuff and I listen to it. It's great."