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Strictly Come Dancing’s Chris McCausland has revealed how the BBC production team have been supporting him as the show’s first blind contestant.

Speaking to The Independent and other media ahead of the show’s launch, the comedian admitted that he and his dance partner are “winging it” since McCausland has never seen the show before, and his professional partner has never taught someone who is blind.

“We’re just gonna have to figure it out as we go along,” he said. “The production team are just being really flexible. My dance partner is figuring out how to teach me. And we are winging it. That’s the best way I think.”

Speaking about his rehearsal experience so far, McCausland explained that adapting to wearing new dancing shoes was the first hurdle.

“The part of the problem for me is wearing shoes that I’m not used to walking in,” he said. “I can’t feel the floor through the shoes properly.”

“There’s a lot of things that are going to make this more complicated,” he laughed. “If it wasn’t on live telly that would be a good thing as well!”

McCausland lost his sight aged 22 due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

As well as being a comedian on panel shows from Have I Got News for You to Would I Lie to You?, McCausland hosts ITV Saturday morning series The Chris McCausland Show, and is known by younger viewers as Rudi, the market trader, in CBeebies show Me Too!

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Discussing his motivations behind joining the show, he said that working in a team is a welcome change from his stand-up work, which can be quite “solitary”.

“The best things I’ve done are the things I’ve really had no experience in and had to learn,” he said. “This is so far out of my comfort zone that it’s gonna be an experience.

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He admitted he was initially reticent about signing up, mainly because he thought it was a silly idea.

“I wasn’t keen on the idea at first,” he said. “Immediately I was like, ‘No, I can’t do that… that’s ridiculous. That’s a stupid question!’ I’m quite resistant to things and then it takes me a while to acclimatise to it and really think it through. But then I just need to process these things.”

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In the Channel 4 series Scared of the Dark, he spoke openly about his experience of going blind, explaining that he can “still see light and space” and has “an awareness of the space around me, not in terms of objects and things, but in terms of the room and whether there might be something in front of me”.

Speaking about representing disability on screen, the comedian said that he thinks that it can be more impactful when it is more subtle.

“My attitude has always been to represent by not banging you over the head. I think the best way to represent a disability is to make people forget about it whenever possible. It’s always part of you.”

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“But if you can do a show where, say, 80 per cent of it isn’t about being blind, that makes it more impactful and funnier when you do talk about it. I believe in representation within the mainstream.”

McCausland will dance alongside other celebrities including Arsenal’s Paul Merson and Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri on this year’s show, which kicks off on Saturday 14 September. Find the full lineup here.

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Strictly Come Dancing is gearing up to return for the show’s 20th anniversary as the show faces an ongoing scandal regarding the conduct of the BBC show’s professional dancers.

The 22nd series arrives as the programme faces scrutiny over the treatment of some of its celebrity participants. Two professional dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, have now left the show following allegations made about their conduct during training.

Pernice has denied allegations of “threatening and abusive behaviour,” while Di Prima said in a statement he “deeply regrets” events that took place with his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal.

The series will begin in September, and will once again be hosted by the glittering duo of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

The eagle-eyed Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse will be returning to the judges’ table.

As with previous seasons, Strictly’s celebrity contestants were announced in drip feed announcements by the BBC. The official list is now complete and includes reality stars, singers, comedians and more. Meet them all below…

Jamie Borthwick

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Actor Jamie Borthwick is known for his long-term role in the BBC soap EastEnders, having starred as Jay Brown/Mitchell since 2006. He is now one of the longest-serving actors on the show. Borthwick previously appeared on the Strictly Christmas special in 2023, and took home the trophy for his slick moves and impressive stage presence.

”I had a ball doing the Strictly Christmas special last year, so when I was asked to join for this series it was the easiest yes!” he said. “This is a fresh challenge and it will be so different to be learning a new dance every week and for the public to have their say.

“I’m hoping to be Salsa-ing around Albert Square in no time and I’ll be asking my Walford Strictly alumni for some words of wisdom. See you on the dancefloor!”

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Tom Dean

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Althete Tom Dean is is a three-time Olympic champion. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics he made history as the first British man to win a gold medal for the men’s 200m swim freestyle in over 100 years, going on to win a further gold medal in Tokyo and become England’s most decorated athlete at the subsequent 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning a total of seven medals.

At the Paris Olympic Games this year, Dean brought home his third gold medal for Team GB in the team 4 x 200m freestyle relay and spilled the news he was a Strictly contestants afterwards in a live interview.

In a follow-up statement, he said: “I am taking part in Strictly Come Dancing 2024! You may have heard me accidentally say it poolside first… but now I can officially talk about how excited I am to get stuck into something new, meet some brilliant people and get dancing. Bring it on!”

Shayne Ward

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Singer Shayne Ward was catapulted to fame when his debut single and album topped the UK charts. His song “That’s My Goal” made it to Christmas number one after he won the second series of The X Factor in 2005. Ward is also known as Aidan Connor in the ITV soap Coronation Street and has appeared in a number of musicals including the West End’s 1980s show Rock of Ages.

Ward said of his upcoming Strictly appearance: “I’m buzzing to see all of the sparkles and magic that is Strictly in real life. I’m no stranger to live TV, but dancing Latin and Ballroom in front of millions is a whole new level. No promises on my dancing ability, but I will give it my best shot!”

Sarah Hadland

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Actor Sarah Hadland is best known for her role as Stevie in the BBC comedy Miranda, which she starred in alongside the show’s creator Miranda Hart. She is also one of the original cast members of the children’s series Horrible Histories and has appeared in numerous films, including the Bond epic Quantum of Solace.

“I cannot believe I am part of Strictly!” Hadland said. “I feel particularly excited to be part of such an iconic show in its 20th year. I’m so ready for the glitz, glam and glitter and hopefully I can make everyone watching at home proud!” 

Tasha Ghouri

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Love Island contestant and model Tasha Ghouri appeared on the ITV reality show in 2022, becoming its first deaf contestant. She trained as a dancer at Creative Academy and has since competed at major dance events and performed in music videos. Ghouri also hosts the podcast Superpowers with Tasha and released the book Hits Different in June, about a girl who is an aspiring dancer and goes on tour with a global superstar.

The Love Island star said of her inclusion on the show: “Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m going to be on Strictly Come Dancing! I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it’s a firm Ghouri family favourite – so this is a total dream come true. I know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dance floor.”

Pete Wicks

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Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks rose to fame on the Brentford-based reality show in 2015, with storylines revolving around his relationships with Megan McKenna and Chloe Sims. He has since appeared on shows including Celebrity MasterChef, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, The Real Full Monty and Celebs Go Dating, and co-hosts the Staying Relevant podcast with his best friend and Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson.

“Dancing live in front of the nation every Saturday? Absolutely terrifying,” Wicks said. “But anyone who knows me knows I love a challenge and trying new things, so I’m genuinely looking forward to getting stuck in.”

Wynne Evans

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Tenor Wynne Evans, who is widely known for featuring in the theatrical Go Compare adverts as an opera singer, has had two number one classical albums and has given more than 200 performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He also hosts a regular show on BBC Radio Wales and is filming a series with Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page about the Welsh coastline.

“I am honestly still pinching myself, a portly balding opera singer, me, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing?!” he said. “I’m not entirely sure how I’ll get along, if all else fails I’ll just have to learn the art of distraction.

“What I do know is I will give it my all and aim to make Wales proud. I’m definitely going to try and combine my love of opera into one of my routines. Plus, after winning Celebrity MasterChef last year, maybe the route to the judges’ hearts will be through their stomachs!”

Toyah Willcox

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Singer and actor Toyah Willcox has 13 top 40 singles including “It’s a Mystery”, “Thunder in the Mountains” and “I Want to Be Free”.  She fronted the eponymous band Toyah from 1977 before becoming a solo artist in 1983. The singer has also featured in films including The Corn is Green and Derek Jarman’s 1979 adaptation of The Tempest.

Willcox said in a statement: “Wow Strictly Come Dancing, can you believe it! This is going to be a wild and wonderful ride, and I’m here for every sparkly second. I’m used to performing for big crowds but this is completely fresh for me. How I will do, it’s a mystery… I just want to get cracking and learn some dance routines now!”

Dr Punam Krishan

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Dr Punam Krishan is a resident GP on BBC Morning Live and BBC Radio Scotland. She regularly covers health topics for newspapers and TV shows and has also written the children’s book How to Be a Doctor and Other Live-Saving Jobs.

She said: “This still doesn’t feel real, I am overjoyed to be a contestant on this year’s show. I have watched Strictly every year with my family and it feels extra special that it’s the 20th year, I can’t believe I will be the one getting Strictly-fied now. This is so out of my comfort zone, but I’m up for the journey and will give it my absolute all.”

Chris McCausland

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Comedian Chris McCausland is a regular face on flagship comedy shows like Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You?. He is also known for playing Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!

The 46-year-old will be the first blind contestant to compete in the show. He lost his eyesight in his early twenties as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition. The diagnosis resulted in him leaving his job in web development, before joining the entertainment industry and finding success.

“I don’t dance, I haven’t danced, I can’t dance, I can’t see the dancing I will have to do. What can possibly go wrong? Ok don’t answer that!” he 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.”

Asked how he feels about taking part, McCausland added: “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.”

JB Gill

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Singer JB Gill shot to fame in the X-Factor-founded band JLS alongside Marvin Humes, Aston Merrygold and Ortise Williams, who are known for their hits “Everybody in Love”, “She Makes Me Wanna” and “One Shot”. The pop group released four albums before splitting in 2013.

Gill said of joining this year’s Strictly contestants: “I danced in the Strictly Christmas special over a decade ago and LOVED it, so when I got the call to join Strictly this year, it was an immediate yes from me. I’m raring to go to and looking forward to showing off some new skills to the JLS boys.”

Montell Douglas (AKA Fire from Gladiators)

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Douglas, who won over audiences when she competed as Fire on the rebooted series of Gladiators, will be bringing her sporty background to the dancefloor.

She previously competed as an Olympic Bobsledder and Team GB Sprinter, becoming the first female UK athlete to compete at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

The athlete previously held a British woman’s record for fastest 100m sprint and won a Commonwealth Gold in the 4x100m relay race in 2010.

“Strictly ARE YOU READY, Fire is here to light up the Ballroom,” she said.

“Wow I am so honoured to have been asked to do the show. It is such an amazing thing to be a part of and I can’t wait to get started. Hopefully a few of my Gladiator moves will come in handy with the Tango or Paso Doble!” she said.

Paul Merson

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Merson, who made his debut for Arsenal aged 17, played 424 times for the Gunners and scored 99 goals during his time on the team.

He now works as a football pundit and commentator and says he is up for the challenge of learning a new skill for Strictly.

Merson said of his signing: “Joining Strictly is a whole new ball game for me, but I’m going to tackle this challenge head on.

“I’m ready to swap the pitch for the Ballroom floor, so here’s hoping my two left feet can learn some moves and you never know, maybe I’ll be taking home the Glitterball Trophy!”

Sam Quek

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Former England and Team GB hockey player Sam Quek has won 125 international caps for the England and Great Britain women’s hockey teams, including a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Olympian said the thought of dancing on the ballroom floor is “quite daunting”.

“I’m chuffed to be a part of this legendary show and Quickstep into the shoes of a performer, it feels absolutely surreal but I’m ready for every bit of the adventure,” she said.

Nick Knowles

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TV presenter Nick Knowles, best known for fronting BBC’s emotional building show DIY SOS, will be swapping his overalls for sparkly jackets on Strictly.

On DIY SOS, Knowles helps transform the homes of families who are nominated by their community.

“I’m so, so excited to be doing Strictly this year,” Knowles said. “People may be more used to me getting stuck in on a building site or travelling the world, but dancing live on TV will be a whole new adventure.

“I’ve spent my whole life learning new skills and I’ve never been afraid of a challenge. I’ll give it my everything… and try not to embarrass my kids of course!”

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As I watched this year’s Strictly Come Dancing cast sashay down the glitzy staircase for the first time, I was disappointed. No, not because the morale felt slightly off post-scandal. I’m unimpressed because, for the first time in four years, the show is without any same-sex pairings – and we’re totally missing out.

Same-sex partnerships on Strictly have been extremely important for fairly reflecting LGBT+ lives on screen – especially on primetime family telly. But even if you put aside the representation element, their dances have made for some of the most spectacular choreography and versatile partner dynamics that we’ve seen on the show. Since same-sex couples aren’t limited to the same constraints that come with traditional heterosexual pairings, years-old ballroom styles can be turned on their head, adding more scope for different types of lifts, tricks and partner-work. It’s a huge shame we won’t get to see any this year.

Just take Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin’s eye-popping routines performed in last year’s series. For the final, they delivered an Argentine tango to Loreen’s “Tattoo” that was both tender and fizzing with chemistry, with Kuzmin lifting Williams over his shoulders into a dramatic backbend. For their Charleston to “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, in which they both wore identical Twenties-style suits, they were a cheeky double act as they performed knee-slides across the floor. Williams was also the first male celebrity contestant to wear a skirt and heels on the show, when dancing a Viennese waltz to “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”, in character as Grease’s Rizzo. Their partnership, like other same-sex couplings who came before, completely pushed the boundaries of what we know as traditional ballroom choreography.

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There’s something exciting about ripping up the dance rulebook with same-sex couplings. Ballroom has long reflected heterosexual roles. The men lead; they are forceful, decisive and completely in charge, while the woman follows. But if you’ll allow me to get a little bit technical, the choreography in same-sex pairings often pushes dancers to move outside of “the hold” – being physically in contact with your partner – more frequently, since the idea of the “leader” is less rigid. And, at the risk of sounding like a ballroom geek, being outside of the hold gives dancers more freedom to move around the stage and flex – just look at John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, who were the first male pairing in 2021, and their alluring Argentine tango. Or Nicola Adams and Katya Jones’s jive to “Greased Lightnin’” that saw them channel the swagger of Danny Zuko’s gang the T-Birds.

When Strictly foxtrotted onto our screens 20 years ago, the idea of same-sex pairings was frowned upon. Even in 2018, celebrity contestant Dr Ranj Singh, who is gay, requested a male partner but was flatly turned down by the BBC. In 2019, there was a same-sex professional dance that received 200 complaints from offended viewers. And while Strictly is easily one of the BBC’s campest shows, which pulls heavily from queer culture, the broadcaster held back when it actually came down to introducing same-sex couplings.

There have been further hurdles: in the competitive dancing world, some dance purists have been reticent about same-sex pairings. In 2014 – the year same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales – the British Dance Council attempted to define a “pair” as “one man and one lady” and tried to ban same-sex couples from ballroom dance competitions. That’s why this year’s Strictly lineup feels like a step backwards.

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When Olympic boxer Nicola Adams requested a female dance partner in 2020, she altered Strictly history, with Whaite, Jayde Adams and Williams all following suit. These pairings mattered not because they tick diversity check-boxes but because Strictly is a family show. And those young people watching at home, some of whom might be working out their sexuality, can use TV as an outlet to figure out their identity. Since ballroom is inherently underpinned by the chemistry between two dancers, what better way to show the existence of gay romance to children than through a wholesome TV show?

Perhaps none of this year’s celebrity contestants requested a partner of the same sex, since it is usually their choice (rather than the producers’). In which case, maybe this absence couldn’t be avoided. Either way, I know that this year’s dances will be seriously lacking in one area. Here’s hoping that our new set of boy-girl couples can serve up excitement elsewhere.

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Friends creator Marta Kauffman has said that the sitcom’s 30th anniversary is “fraught” following the sudden death of star Matthew Perry last year.

Perry, who played the wisecracking Chandler Bing in the hit TV comedy, died at the age of 54 from the acute effects of ketamine use.

Friends celebrates its 30th anniversary on Sunday (22 September). Kauffman was interviewed ahead of the anniversary alongside co-creator David Crane and producer Kevin S Bright.

Speaking on Today, Kauffman said of Perry’s death: “It’s a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraught.”

Bright added: “He made us laugh every day.”

Perry had spoken openly about his struggles with addiction throughout his life, and had worked as an advocate for rehabilitation.

“He’d been fighting the good fight for so long, and it really did feel like, from the [2021 cast] reunion on, that he had finally found some peace,” Bright continued.

In 2021, Perry and the other five leads of Friends – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer – appeared in a televised reunion special. The programme would be Perry’s final on-screen appearance before his death.

Recurring Friends cast member Aisha Tyler, who played Charlie, recently spoke to The Independentahead of the anniversary, and reflected on an interaction with Perry.

“On my first live show, Matthew Perry said to me, ‘Get ready for your life to change,’” she recalled. “And it was just those little moments of kindness that came very easily for them, but really made a difference for me – because it’s very hard to be funny if you’re frightened.

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“You’re on a hit show and these are people you’ve watched on television and you’re standing next to them, and you just don’t want to suck.”

Elsewhere, she reflected on the show’s lack of racial diversity, which has been increasingly criticised in the years since the series ended. Tyler was the only Black actor to have a recurring role on Friends.

“There was nothing in the writing of my character or in the stage directions that indicated that Charlie was supposed to be a woman of colour. I know that David has said that he really pushed for that [more diversity] and I think that’s wonderful,” she said.

“But what I liked was that they just wrote this smart, sexy character and she happened to be Black and they weren’t trying to seismically change what the show was, but they were aware of the fact that it didn’t feel totally representative of the world as it existed then or had existed for many, many, many decades.

“So I knew that me coming on the show was an aspect of that self-reflection.”