Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland shares struggle as 'wife picks up lots of slack'

Strictly Come Dancing's first-ever blind contestant, Chris McCausland, has opened up about concerns over his family life. The comedian, who is partnered with Australian dancer Dianne Buswell on the BBC show, has become a fan favourite.

In an interview with the Guardian, Chris shared that in the last decade, he has grown to feel "comfortable" in his own skin, attributing this change to getting older, and the birth of his daughter, which he believes has altered his perspective on life and self-image. He remarked: "I think that really changes your outlook on life and yourself."

Chris reflected on how he had pragmatically dealt with his sight loss by changing jobs when necessary, but recognised that parenting doesn't offer the same flexibility.

He confessed: "Being a dad, you can’t just decide to find something else to do. I worried about it a lot, and there’s a lot of slack that my wife picks up, a lot of the logistical stuff."

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It comes after the recent Samba dance-a-thon challenge on Strictly Come Dancing sparked discussion amongst viewers after Chris and Dianne were the first to be eliminated, earning only one point.

This prompted fans to question the fairness of the contest, especially for Chris, with one viewer asking whose "brilliant idea" it was to include a Samba-thon "this year of all years", highlighting the disadvantage it posed for him.

One viewer expressed their shock that the show chose this year to "bring back the sambathon when Chris cannot see any of the other couples/be spatially aware of other couples". However, upon learning he'd only scored one point, Chris couldn't contain his excitement, shouting "yes!".

He later took to Instagram to share his thoughts about the episode. He wrote: “I was really proud of our dance on Saturday, and as for the Sambathon....[zipped-mouth emoji] ....Well thank you so much for all of your votes. You really did help us survive double Latin! See you tomorrow partner (Dianne Buswell), I'll be bringing earplugs.” (sic)

In the most recent elimination, Jamie Borthwick and his professional partner Michelle Tsiakkas became the ninth couple to leave the show after a dance-off against Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe.

Strictly Come Dancing airs tonight at 7.05pm on BBC One and iPlayer.