The daughter of blind favorite Chris McCausland begged him not to sign up for the BBC show, for fear of “falling off the stage and breaking his leg”.

He said 11-year-old Sophie was worried he would “make a fool of himself” in front of millions of people on live television every Saturday night.

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But comedian chrisThe 47-year-old, who has reached the eighth week of the competition, has proven he is no laughing stock and is now the bookies’ favorite to be crowned winner next month.

Before last night’s show, he said: “My daughter is just like me; I think he uses comedy to maybe hide your true worries sometimes.

“She was joking, ‘Oh yeah, you’re probably going to fall off the stage and break your leg and ha, ha, ha.'”

It comes after Dianne was almost forced to pull out of her performance last night due to illness. health. A source said: “Dianne was not feeling very well and was ill during rehearsals on Saturday.

“She didn’t want to let Chris down, so she rested in the afternoon and managed to pull through for the live show.”

He Liverpool The comedian lost his sight at the age of 22 due to the hereditary genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa, inherited from his mother.

Chris, who has been married to Patricia for 12 years, added: “I think there was a concern there.

“It’s my job take care of Sophie and raise her. But I do think she cares about me.

“But there is the anxiety of looking foolish or making a fool of yourself and being embarrassed. Maybe she was a little worried that I would do that on TV.

“She’s still nervous every week, but she’s really adjusted and is accepting it now.”

Chris is partnered with a professional dancer. Diana Buswellwho said Sophie was “very happy” when she went to watch them tango in the training room last week.

Chris added: “His favorite dances have been Wayne’s World and his second was the zombie dance.”

The couple performed the samba on Halloween week to the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive and scored 26 out of 40, according to the judges. Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke said it had “too much bounce.”

But Chris responded: “My daughter didn’t care that my samba was jumping.”

He also revealed that he rejected bbc bosses “a few times” before finally agreeing to take part in Strictly’s 20th anniversary show this year.

I said no to this several times because of that fear, but it was worth facing it.

Chris McCausland

And he said: “I think the biggest thing I’ll take away from this is that it’s going to take a lot more to scare me in the future. future.

“At the beginning, I was one of the opinion that often the scariest things I’ve done professionally have been the most rewarding, and this was off the charts in terms of my fear of doing it.

“I said no to this several times because of that fear, but it was worth facing it.”

Last night, Chris danced to choosing his partner with Instant Karma! by John Lennon.

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He said: “One of the things I realized was that representation is a good thing, no matter what group you represent.

“They gave me the opportunity to represent a group, and whether you are blind, have a disability or an obstacle that prevents you from doing something on the biggest show on television. . .

“I wasn’t doing it because I was terrified. I had to face that fear, face it, and do this.

“I think not doing it would have been a little selfish because not everyone has the opportunity to build their own life.” career to be given that opportunity.

“And for me, I think getting over that has been good for me.

My wife has never actually watched Strictly. She was put on the Strictly bus for this series.

Chris McCausland

“It’s so unknown to me, because I couldn’t even go back and watch the show.

“If someone asks me if I want to do a panel, I just go back and listen to it and know what it is, whereas with Strictly I simply had no idea; I have been learning as I went along.”

Chris added that Patricia, who is from Brazil and met him at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005, he was amazed by his performances on the show.

He said: “My wife never actually watched Strictly. She has been taken to Strictly bus for this series, in a way.

‘This is consuming’

“She is really impressed with what we have been able to achieve and also what Dianne has been able to get out of me.

“She thinks Dianne is amazing for what she’s been able to bring out of me because, I guess, she sees the difference in me.

“When I’m on stage and on TV doing things, I’m ‘comic Chris and I are in comedy mode and I’m acting.

“But this consumes, it consumes your home life and your professional life.

“She, more than anyone, has seen the effect that the successes we’ve had on the show have had on me outside of the television world.

“It’s really been more successful than I ever thought it could be, and it’s been amazing to be a part of.”