BBC Strictly's Chris McCausland opens up about 'torment' in devastating family admission
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland said having children "terrified him" as he worried about being a "half dad" due to his disability.
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland admitted starting a family "terrified him" as he feared he wouldn't be a "proper dad" due to his disability.
Chris, 47, has been blind since he was 22 after beginning to gradually lose his sight at age 16 due to retinitis pigmentosa.
According to the NHS, the condition is inherited and results in the gradual degeneration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina.
Chris now shares a 10-year-old daughter called Sophie with his wife Patricia, but says the thought of having children had previously "caused torment" in his mind.
Appearing on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast earlier this year, Chris said: “I was in such a dilemma about it because I knew I would regret not having kids, but the thought of having kids terrified me.
“I want to do things I'm good at...And that idea of doing something to a lower standard because of my eyesight ultimately stops me from doing a lot of things that I've enjoyed.
“The idea of being a parent and all of the things I was going to be unable to do properly. My dad, all the things he used to do with me as a kid, taking me to different places, and the time he put in helping me build things.
“You go, ‘How am I going to be able to do those things - I'm not going to be a proper dad, I'm going to be a half dad’. That really caused me a lot of torment in my head.”
Putting his fear behind him, Chris and Patricia welcomed Sophie in 2014 and the comedian says being a father has been “amazing”.
He added to Gyles: “Weirdly, I think I wanted a girl because of that because I figured if we got a girl, I could be a loving dad, and some of the practical obligations would fall more on Patricia because she'd be a girl.”
Strictly: Chris McCausland announced as 2024 contestant
Last month, Chris was announced as a contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2024, despite never watching the BBC show.
He admitted: "I've never watched it ever. I don't know what I'm getting myself into. Ask me when I get into week two and get the hang of it. I kept it a secret so good and it was in the papers, and now at least I can say."
Asked on This Morning why he had never watched it, Chris quipped that there's "no point" when you're blind.
Chris is Strictly's first blind contestant and expressed his "apprehensive" feelings about competing. He said: “Apprehensive, massively apprehensive. I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. I’ve never watched it, obviously. It’s just some music.
"I don’t dance, I have never danced. I grew up with headbanging and mosh pits."
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 'winner' already worked out before first show
Love Island's Tasha Ghouri and EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick have both caught the attention of bookies in the early odds on who will win Strictly Come Dancing.
Both have proved to be contentious choices for this year's Strictly Come Dancing. Tasha, a trained professional dancer, has faced questions on Instagram about whether her previous experience gives her an "unfair advantage."
But who will win? Get the latest odds and poll results on the Strictly 2024 winner.
