Chris McCausland

Last updated

Chris McCausland
Birth nameChristopher John McCausland
Born (1977-06-15) 15 June 1977 (age 47)
Liverpool, England
Medium
Education Kingston University (BSc)
Years active2003–present
Children1

Christopher John McCausland (born 15 June 1977) is an English actor and comedian. He is known to television audiences for his role as Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too! . He regularly appears at comedy venues around the UK, including The Comedy Store. McCausland is blind due to retinitis pigmentosa.

Contents

In December 2024, McCausland won the twenty-second series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing , partnered with professional dancer Dianne Buswell.

Early life

Christopher John McCausland [1] was born on 15 June 1977 [2] [3] in West Derby Village in Liverpool [4] and has lived in Surbiton, near Kingston upon Thames, since 1996, after moving there to study at Kingston University. He graduated in 2000, with a BSc Honours in Software Engineering. After a spell as a web developer, deteriorating eyesight prompted a change of direction and he worked in sales for a number of years, during which time he first performed stand-up comedy in 2003. [5]

Stand-up comedy

McCausland first tried stand-up at a new act comedy night in a room above a pub in Balham in July 2003. [6] Within his first year of performing, he won the Jongleurs J2O Last Laugh competition, came runner up in the Laughing Horse New Act of The Year and came third in Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny? competition.

Between 2005 and 2012, he took six stand-up shows to the Edinburgh Festival and in 2011 was awarded the Creative Diversity Award for comedy by a Channel 4-led panel of broadcasters which also included BBC, ITV and Sky. He has performed all over the world, including across Asia and the Middle East, and regularly travels the UK playing the country's top comedy clubs. He appeared on the BBC's Live at the Apollo on 4 January 2018 and hosted the show on 7 January 2022. [7]

Television

In 2014, McCausland fronted a national television advert for Barclays, promoting the benefits of their new talking cash machines. Also in 2014, he starred in the Jimmy McGovern drama series Moving On , alongside Anna Crilly and Neil Fitzmaurice. In 2012, he appeared alongside fellow comedians in Jimmy Carr's Comedians Special charity episode of Celebrity Deal or No Deal .[ citation needed ]

He appeared in three series of At The Comedy Store in 2008 for Paramount Comedy as well as in 2010 and 2012 for Comedy Central. In 2010, he featured in BBC One's end of year spoof news review, Unwrapped with Miranda Hart . In 2011, he appeared in ITV's series Stand-up Hero.

McCausland was also one of the principal characters in the CBeebies series Me Too! , playing Rudi the market trader. Filmed in 2006, it aired on CBeebies and internationally until April 2016. On 20 August 2018, he appeared in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders .

On 18 October 2019, he appeared on the BBC comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?. [8]

McCausland has established himself as a regular panellist on the BBC satirical news show, Have I Got News for You , making six appearances since his November 2019 debut. His most recent appearance was in May 2024.

In February 2020, he appeared on an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown on Channel 4. McCausland scored highly throughout the episode, playing by memory alone, and correctly guessed the difficult end of game "Countdown Conundrum" before the sighted panellists. During the show, presenter Jimmy Carr produced blindfolds for the other contestants and encouraged them to try playing without sight.[ citation needed ]

On 15 January 2021, he appeared again on the BBC One show Would I Lie to You? [9]

In July 2022, Channel 4 announced McCausland would present a four-part travelogue series, provisionally titled The Wonders of the World I Can't See. The series aired in June and July 2023. [10] [11]

In April 2023, he was a contestant in the reality television series Scared of the Dark . [12] In December 2023, he was a contestant on Richard Osman's House of Games . [13]

In March 2024, he featured in series 13, episode 5 of Not Going Out , "Train". [14] On 29 June 2024, his Saturday morning chatshow The Chris McCausland Show premiered on ITV1. [15]

From September 2024 McCausland competed in the twenty-second series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing , where he was partnered by professional dancer Dianne Buswell. [16] He is the first blind contestant to appear on the show. [17] In week 3 the couple danced a jive to the "Wayne's World Theme" and scored 30 points; in week 4 they danced a salsa to "Down Under" and again scored 30 points; and in week 5 they danced a waltz to "You'll Never Walk Alone" and scored 35 points. The couple became the 100th Strictly couple to perform in Blackpool. In the semi-finals they danced a Charleston and a Viennese Waltz, the latter of which scored 36 points. They were announced as the series winners. [18] [19]

The winner of Strictly Come Dancing was determined by a live public vote at the final show. McCausland, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, was crowned the winner following his performances on the dance floor and after tackling complex dance routines during the series with his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell. [20]

He appeared as a panelist on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year in 2024, paired with Maisie Adam. [21] Some viewers complained that the quiz featured many visual elements, with little effort made to account for his visual impairment. [22]

On 23 December 2024 it was announced that McCausland would deliver the annual Channel 4 Alternative Christmas message, on Christmas Day, in which he would appeal for an end to discrimination against disabled people. [23]

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2024 Bad Tidings [24] Scott

Radio

McCausland was a guest on BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity in February 2023. [25] His hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "a vinyl record".

Since March 2023, he has hosted a Radio 4 panel game about sound clips, called You Heard It Here First. [26]

In April 2024, he featured on BBC Radio 4’s Room 101 .

In January 2025, McCausland and his Strictly partner Buswell began a new podcast, called Winning Isn't Everything. [27]

Personal life

McCausland lives with his wife and daughter. [5]

His blindness is due to retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that has affected both his mother and grandmother. McCausland had complete loss of sight by the age of 22. [28]

He is a supporter of Liverpool F.C. [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Ball</span> British television and radio personality (born 1970)

Zoe Louise Ball is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after Gary Lineker.

Russell John Dammerall Grant is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service. He is also the author of The Real Counties of Britain, and founded the Association of British Counties in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Winkleman</span> English television presenter (born 1972)

Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman is an English broadcaster and writer. She has been nominated three times for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for co-presenting the BBC One dancing competition show Strictly Come Dancing (2010–present). Winkleman received her fourth BAFTA nomination and first win for presenting the BBC One reality show The Traitors (2022–present). She previously hosted the Saturday mid-mornings show on BBC Radio 2.

<i>The Big Fat Quiz of the Year</i> Annual British comedy TV panel show

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is an approximately annual British television programme broadcast in the last or first week of the year on Channel 4. The show is a comedy panel game in the style of a pub quiz. Three teams of two celebrities, mostly comedians, are asked questions about the year gone by in various categories, writing answers on an electronic board in front of them. At the end of each round the answers are displayed and points awarded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gethin Jones</span> Welsh television presenter

Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C as a presenter of children's programmes such as Popty, Mas Draw and the flagship children's entertainment show Uned 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Stephenson</span> English actress, comedian and impressionist (born 1972)

Deborah Lee Duffield, known professionally as Debra Stephenson, is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in Playing the Field (1999–2000), Shell Dockley in Bad Girls and as Frankie Baldwin in Coronation Street (2004–2006).

Chelsea Jade Healey is an English actress. She is known for portraying the roles of Janeece Bryant in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road, Honey Wright in the BBC medical drama series Casualty (2014–2015) and Goldie McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2016–present). She has also appeared as a contestant on the ninth series of Strictly Come Dancing (2011) and the seventeenth series of Dancing on Ice (2025).

Thomas Paul Allen is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter. In 2005, he won the So You Think You're Funny contest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Sarah Hadland is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Stevie Sutton in BBC One's BAFTA-nominated comedy television series Miranda (2009–2015) and Trish in The Job Lot (2013–2015).

Amar Latif is a Scottish entrepreneur, television personality and professional traveller. His blindness is due to the incurable eye condition retinitis pigmentosa. By his late teens he had 95 per cent sight loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ramsey (comedian)</span> English actor and comedian

Christopher Ramsey is an English actor, comedian and presenter. After appearing in Hebburn as Jack (2012–2013), Ramsey began presenting series including I'm A Celebrity: Extra Camp (2016), Virtually Famous (2016–2017) and Stand Up Central (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JB Gill</span> British singer

Jonathan Benjamin Gill also known professionally as JB Gill, is a British singer and television presenter. He is best known as a member of the boy band JLS, who were runners-up to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. With JLS, he went on to achieve five no. 1 singles, over 10 million record sales worldwide, two Brit awards, and five MOBO awards, before the band split up in 2013. His later career saw him presenting television shows Down on the Farm (2015) and Songs of Praise (2017).

Aljaž Škorjanec is a Slovenian dancer and choreographer, who is known for appearing on the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer from 2013 to 2021, and from 2024 onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Sugg</span> English YouTuber

Joseph Graham Sugg is an English YouTuber and actor. In 2012, he began posting videos on the YouTube channel ThatcherJoe, currently at over 7 million subscribers. In 2018, he was a finalist on the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2019, he portrayed Ogie Anhorn in the West End production of Waitress. He is the younger brother of fellow YouTuber Zoe Sugg.

Peter James Wicks is an English television personality who was a cast member on the ITVBe reality series The Only Way Is Essex. Between September and December 2024, he was a contestant on the twenty-second series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Jowita Przystał.

Katya Jones is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2017 with her dance partner Joe McFadden. In the 2020 series, Jones was paired with the retired professional and Olympic champion boxer Nicola Adams, the first same-sex couple to compete in the UK competition's format.

Dianne Claire Buswell is an Australian professional dancer who is best known for her appearances on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. After competing on Dancing with the Stars in Australia, she joined the British series in 2017, reaching the final in 2018 with Joe Sugg and in 2023 with Bobby Brazier, and winning the contest with Chris McCausland in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mo Gilligan</span> British comedian

Mosiah Bikila Gilligan is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter and content creator. Mo Gilligan is 6' 1" in height. He is known for his observational comedy. After several years of uploading comedy clips to social media, he found global success in 2017. He hosted The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan (2019) on Channel 4. He currently co-hosts The Big Narstie Show on Channel 4, and is a judge on The Masked Singer UK since the second series in 2020, and a judge on The Masked Dancer UK since 2021. In 2022 Gilligan took a break from The Masked Dancer UK due to work conflicts, and was replaced by Peter Crouch.

Strictly Come Dancing Live! is a nationwide arena tour in the United Kingdom which was first staged in 2008 and has continued every year since. It is directed and co-choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its twenty-second series with a launch show on 14 September 2024 on BBC One, with the live shows beginning on 21 September. A special episode to commemorate the programme's twentieth anniversary has also been confirmed. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, whilst Janette Manrara and Fleur East returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke returned to the judging panel.

References

  1. ↑ "Chris McCausland". Plex . Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. ↑ McCausland, Christopher John [@chrismccausland] (15 June 2023). "Cheers mate. Right back at ya!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023– via Twitter.
  3. ↑ McCausland, Christopher John [@chrismccausland] (2 July 2022). "Today this 45-year-old bloke is as giddy as a teenager. First concert since before the pandemic. All the way from Hollywood… Gguns N' fucking Roses 🤣🤘🏻" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023– via Twitter.
  4. ↑ Swain, Marianka (2 June 2024). "Why blind comedian Chris McCausland is an inspired choice for scandal-hit Strictly". The Telegraph– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 Samuelson, Kate (9 January 2016). "The ECHO meets the West Derby stand up who wouldn't let blindness ruin his comedy career". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Guide, British Comedy (23 July 2021). "Chris McCausland - First Gig, Worst Gig". British Comedy Guide.
  7. ↑ "Live at the Apollo Series 16, Episode 1 - Chris McCausland, Sophie Duker, Emmanuel Sonubi". Comedy.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "BBC One - Would I Lie to You?, Series 13, Episode 1". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "Would I Lie to You S14 E2. Stephen Hendry, Laura Whitmore, Chris McCausland, Maisie Adam". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "New four-part travelogue series from Open Mike Productions for Channel 4 starring Chris McCausland". Channel4.com. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Wonders of the World I Can't See". Chortle . 8 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Henry, Grace (14 April 2023). "Scared of the Dark's Chris McCausland on experiencing show with blindness". Radio Times . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "BBC Two - Richard Osman's House of Games, Series 7, Week 11: Monday". BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "BBC One - Not Going Out, Series 13, Train". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "ITV Show for Chris McCausland coming very soon!". chrismccausland.com/news. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  16. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing". The Independent.
  17. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing 2024: Chris McCausland and JB Gill announced as first two celebrity contestants". BBC News . 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  18. ↑ Nanji, Noor (14 December 2024). "Strictly winners crowned after glitzy live final". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  19. ↑ Muir, Ellie; McGrath, Rachel (14 December 2024). "Strictly final live: Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell win Glitterball Trophy in tear-jerking finale". The Independent. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  20. ↑ Muir, Ellie (14 December 2024). "Strictly Come Dancing announces winner for 2024 series". The Independent . Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year: The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2024". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  22. ↑ Seddon, Dan (28 December 2024). "Big Fat Quiz of the Year draws criticism from Chris McCausland fans". Yahoo News. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  23. ↑ Bakare, Lanre (23 December 2024). "Chris McCausland to deliver Channel 4's alternative Christmas message". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  24. ↑ "Sky unveils official trailer for 2024 Christmas special 'Bad Tidings' starring Chris McCausland, Lee Mack and Rebekah Staton". skygroup.sky. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  25. ↑ "The Museum of Curiosity - Series 17 - Episode 1". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - You Heard It Here First, Series 1, Episode 1".
  27. ↑ "Winning Isn't Everything with Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell".
  28. ↑ Duerden, Nick (16 June 2023). "Chris McCausland: 'A miracle to cure my blindness completely? I'd consider that'". The i paper .

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.