The first official announcement for Strictly Come Dancing 2024 has arrived, and we now know that comedian Chris McCausland is the latest celebrity contestant confirmed for the brand-new series.
While there has been plenty of speculation about who might be taking part in the dance competition this year, we have all been waiting for an official line from the BBC before the show returns to our screens next month.
Chris, who suffers from the hereditary condition retinitis pigmentosa, lost his sight completely at 22 years old, making him the first blind contestant to appear on Strictly Come Dancing.
Chris's news, which was announced by Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle on ITV1 show This Morning earlier today, comes after Olympic swimmer Tom Dean reportedly let slip that he was also part of this year's lineup last week.
The show, which has been surrounded by a huge amount of press recently following allegations made by former celebrity contestants, promises to make this series an extra special one as Strictly celebrates two decades on our screens.
Chris McCausland has been a comedian for over two decades and is a regular face on flagship comedy shows like Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, QI, The Last Leg, and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
He has appeared on Live at the Apollo three times, hosting in 2021, a year that also saw him make his highly acclaimed debut appearance on The Royal Variety Performance.
The 47-year-old star also hosts his Saturday morning ITV chat show called The Chris McCausland Show which is part of the ITV1 weekend line-up which includes Jimmy and Shivi’s Farmhouse Breakfast and he also recently turned up in an episode of Not Going Out.
Speaking of his new adventure, Chris says: "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. 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...!”
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is coming to BBC One in September. You can catch up on past series of the show on BBC iPlayer.
