Strictly Come Dancing Enthusiast Receives Unexpected Call from Winner

Cleo, a nine-year-old who is visually impaired and a devoted admirer of Strictly Come Dancing champion Chris McCausland, described receiving an unexpected phone call from him as “pretty awesome.” McCausland had served as an inspiration to Cleo, being the first blind participant ever to appear on the program. Hailing from Birmingham, Cleo had messaged McCausland on Instagram after his victory, extending her congratulations and expressing her aspiration to become a dancer herself someday. BBC Radio WM facilitated a meeting between the two on Thursday, during which McCausland conveyed his confidence that Cleo could also participate in Strictly in the future. Cleo, a student at Priestley Smith Specialist School in Great Barr, Sandwell, identifies herself as McCausland’s “biggest fan.” Her preferred dance is the cha-cha-cha, the same routine McCausland performed with his dance partner Dianne Buswell to introduce himself to the public. Cleo mentioned that she typically watches Strictly annually, except for the previous year, which she found “boring,” but noted that the current series held particular significance. She stated, “Chris has a visual impairment [and] he knows all the dance steps [even though] he can’t see.” When McCausland joined the phone call, which was unexpected for Cleo, her family, and her headteacher Joanna Garvey, the young student immediately identified his voice. McCausland conveyed to her, “I’ve been listening to you talking so wonderfully and so positively and so beautifully. What a pleasure to speak to you Cleo. I’m so glad you enjoyed Strictly and I think your attitude and your positivity is magnificent.” Ms Garvey commented that McCausland was altering perceptions and illustrating to her students how to overcome obstacles. She remarked, “He has done in a series what we have spent our careers doing. Demonstrating how resilient, innovative and creative you have to be with a visual impairment. It takes a blind person 100 times to learn something that a sighted person can learn just by watching so as teachers we are in awe of Dianne. To teach such complex steps of new dances in less than a week is simply mind blowing.” Furthermore, McCausland delivered a message to both the students and personnel at Priestley Smith Specialist School. He advised, “Believe in yourself. Things will always seem scary and things will always seem daunting. It’s fine to give them a go and it’s fine for them to not be perfect. It’s fine for things to not work.” For further updates, BBC Birmingham can be followed on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. This content is Copyright 2024 BBC, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites and provides information regarding its policy on external linking.