Friend Identifies Chris McCausland’s Key Challenge for Strictly Win

A friend of Strictly Come Dancing finalist Chris McCausland has identified what she believes to be his most significant obstacle to winning the competition. Sally Rodrigues, a Bristol-based therapist and the blind national sailing champion, stated that the comedian still needs to conquer his nerves. Rodrigues further expressed that the representation Chris has offered to the blind community is “huge,” and she hopes Chris and his dance partner Dianne Buswell will triumph in this Saturday’s final. “I don’t know what it is but I just have this gut feeling he’s going to win it, he’s seriously delivering and he’s really popular,” she commented. Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, she added, “It’s so exciting, I have to leave the room sometimes.” In 2021, actress Rose Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf contestant to secure victory in the competition. Sally noted, “You could argue they needed a blind person, or other disabilities, to balance it out but Chris had been asked to do it multiple times before and declined because of how fearful he was.” The 47-year-old admitted to experiencing intense fear before his inaugural live dance, but his confidence has progressively increased since then. However, Sally believes he has not yet fully overcome his nerves. She also observed that his partnership with professional dancer Dianne has flourished throughout the series, and their chemistry on the dancefloor has been evident to all viewers. “It’s special to be able to almost touch their bond through the screen,” Sally remarked. She elaborated, “They’re very connected and they have to be in order to get this level of standard from both of them.” “Being mentally bonded is the most important thing but obviously they have to be physically connected as well and they’re pulling that off.” Chris’s participation in the programme coincides with this series being the first to offer audio-description for viewers. This service provides a voice-over for the programme that describes the visual actions taking place on the screen. Sally stated, “I’ve never watched the programme because it was only music to me before, but now I can 100% take on everything they’re saying and doing.” The Strictly Come Dancing final is scheduled for BBC One at 18:00 GMT on Saturday December 14. Audio description is available via the BBC iPlayer.