He’s won the hearts of the nation thanks to the extraordinary partnership he’s formed with Dianne Buswell, now the public are poised to make him their Strictly champion on Saturday
The Strictly Come Dancing glitterball is now Chris McCausland’s to lose but, judging by the way the audience is voting and according to every poll going, there’s no chance of that.
All four of the remaining celebs have earned their place in the final and each one of them would make a worthy winner. But the public have been totally captivated by Chris’s staggering ability to take on everything Dianne Buswell has thrown at him – despite being unable to see what he, or she, is doing.
When Dianne pointed out in Saturday’s show that Chris doesn’t even know what he is up against, because he hasn’t seen one step from Tasha Ghouri, JB Gill or Sarah Hadland, presenter Tess Daly was so choked with emotion she could barely get the next link out. And Di’s words had a similar effect on all the pro dancers gathered in the Clauditorium.
Throughout this process, Chris has never been able to watch himself on video in order to improve his performance, or look in the mirror to check his frame or make sure his leg/arm/head is in the right place or watch Dianne to see how a complicated step should be done. It’s clear his sight loss, at the age of 22, makes the learning process immeasurably harder than it is for any other competitor and yet, somehow, he’s completely smashed it.
Chris and Dianne’s partnership has captivated Strictly fans (
Image:
PA)
The truth is, what he’s achieved with Dianne is nothing short of miraculous and he’s done it with such joy, determination, surprise and good humour that the audience has been right behind them from the very first moment they stepped onto that dance floor.
→ Swipe to see more articles
This Saturday, in time-honoured fashion, the finalists will each perform three dances – their favourite of the series, a show dance, and one picked for them to repeat by the judges.
Tasha, partnered with Aljaz, is a beautiful performer who should absolutely return to being a professional dancer, as she was in her younger days. Their biggest issue is that the bar was so high when she started there hasn’t been much of a journey, and the voting public very much like to be taken on one.
Ditto JB, who also has many years of experience thanks to his time with JLS. He has wowed over the weeks and managed to remain incredibly consistent despite having to swap partners from Amy Dowden, sadly injured halfway through the competition, to Lauren Oakley, who stepped in to provide a brilliantly seamless transition.
JB and Lauren have garnered a horde of fans (
Image:
PA)
Tasha and Aljaz have consistently topped the Strictly leaderboard (
Image:
PA)
Actress Sarah Hadland, dancing with Vito Coppola, has done wonders for the reputation of 50-something women because she’s shown that she’s every bit as capable as her younger co-stars. Fearless, funny and (importantly) flexible, she’s been hugely entertaining throughout.
All four celebs will be a delight to watch in the final for the 20th anniversary, which is shaping up to be one of the best we’ve ever seen. But it’s comedian Chris, with his “impeccable footwork” – according to head judge Shirley Ballas – and love of heavy metal, Liverpool football club and daft quips in the studio, who has most moved and impressed the audience week after week. The partnership he has built with Dianne – who has made the final twice but never won – is probably the most endearing in the show’s history.
This weekend the result is based only on the public’s votes and regardless of where Chris ends up on the leaderboard, my money is firmly on him and Dianne to lift that glitterball trophy. Well, I only wish my money WAS on him, because he started the competition as a 25-1 outsider to win, and today is placed at 1-10, making a flutter pointless.
But it does’t matter. I was lucky enough to see Chris perform live in the Strictly studio back in October, drawing a standing ovation from the awestruck audience. He couldn’t see us all climbing to our feet, but there’s no doubt he felt it.
Before he started on the show, Chris said: ”If anybody out there is thinking ‘how the hell is he going to do that?’ then rest assured that I am thinking exactly the same thing.” Now, thanks to Dianne, he knows the answer.
Go Chris. You’ve got this.
