Days after he won Strictly Come Dancing, Chris McCausland has made an “unfortunate” announcement about the show’s forthcoming tour.
The 47-year-old comedian from Liverpool made history as the first ever blind contestant to compete on the popular dancing contest, and lifted the Glitterball Trophy along with his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell on Saturday (14 December).
After the show is over, contestants and their partners traditionally take part in a nationwide tour where they perform a series of dances for fans.
Set to take off in January 2025, the live show will feature all the other finalists including Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, JLS musician JB Gill, and Miranda‘s Sarah Hadland. Eastenders actor Jamie Borthwick, Coronation Street’s Shayne Ward and former athlete and Gladiator Montell Douglas will also be taking part.
But fans will be disappointed to know that their winner will not be able to attend the live performances.
“I’m afraid I will not be able to do the Strictly tour,” McCausland said on X/Twitter in response to a fan query about his participation on Monday night (17 December)
“My own tour was meant to be on the road in September and a lot of dates were moved to Jan and Feb to accommodate doing #Strictly.
“It’s unfortunate as it’s been so much fun, but my own dates can’t be moved for a second time.”
McCausland said in an interview on Lorraine on Monday (16 December), that he truly didn’t think he’d make it far enough to take part.
“It just wasn’t really a consideration at the time as I don’t think anyone thought I would be any good at it,” he said.
“I didn’t think I would be going off the back of Strictly on tour. I thought I would be going off the back of two months off.”
The comedian’s partner Buswell said she was told that she wouldn’t make it far in the competition once she had been assigned McCausland. The pair had named their team “Winning is not everything” as McCausland admitted that he felt other couples were better.
In a dedication to her in their victory speech, he said, “We’ve lasted and lasted and Dianne has got so much out of me. She deserves this so much. Every day she’s just positivity and belief and she’s just one of the easiest people to be funny with than I’ve ever met.”
He then joked: “Unless she changes her number, she’s stuck with me.”
McCausland dedicated his victory to anybody who “got told or thought that they couldn’t do something”.
“It shows that with opportunity, support and determination, that anything can happen,” he said.
