Strictly champ Chris McCausland ‘has tears in his eyes’ as he opens up about BBC win – admitting he’s still ‘worn down’
STRICTLY Come Dancing champion Chris McCausland was clearly emotional days on from his BBC show win as he appeared on Monday's Lorraine.
The blind comedian, who scooped the iconic Glitterball Trophy with professional partner Dianne Buswell, 35, on Saturday, pleaded "what are you doing to me?" after a montage of his emotional victory played out on-screen.
Chris, 47, who began to lose his sight aged 16, made Strictly history as the first blind contestant to take the title in the BBC One programme's 20-year history.
He appeared on ITV daytime series Lorraine on Monday, fronted by stand-in anchor Ranvir Singh, 47, who exclaimed: "I think you still have tears in your eyes!"
The 8 Out of 10 Cats star, who had brought the Glitterball into the studio, laughed and replied: "What are you doing to me?"
As Ranvir - who starred on the reality series in 2020 - asked how he was feeling in his first few days of post-Strictly life, he said: "It's been a really emotional Saturday night.
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"I am still feeling quite worn down by it all.
"The last three months was relentless, it's consuming, physically and mentally it takes its toll."
He then joked how the show "beats you down and pokes you with a stick."
Yet he admitted one perk of training - being able to eat whatever he wanted - "has to change."
This includes burgers for lunch on a Tuesday as he admitted: "I have eaten more chocolate these four months than I have in the last 10 Christmas'!"
Yet the fan-favourite contestant took a more serious tone as he opened up on the real reason he accepted the Strictly gig.
He told Ranvir: "I just wanted to go on this and represent people.
"The thing that was panicking me was the dancing, I thought 'this could be a disaster.'
"But I thought in all other ways, I could represent really well.";
All your Strictly Come Dancing winners
Strictly first kicked off back in 2004, and over the years has crowned 21 winners.
Here is a full list of who has been lucky enough to win the famous Glitterball Trophy:
- 2004 - Natasha Kaplinsky
- 2004 - Jill Halfpenny
- 2005 - Darren Gough
- 2006 - Mark Ramprakash
- 2007 - Alesha Dixon
- 2008 - Tom Chambers
- 2009 - Chris Hollins
- 2010 -
- 2011 - Harry Judd
- 2012 - Louis Smith
- 2013 - Abbey Clancy
- 2014 - Caroline Flack
- 2015 - Jay McGuiness
- 2016 - Ore Oduba
- 2017 - Joe McFadden
- 2018 - Stacey Dooley
- 2019 - Kelvin Fletcher
- 2020 - Bill Bailey
- 2021 - Rose Ayling-Ellis
- 2022 - Hamza Yassin
- 2023 - Ellie Leach
- 2024 - Chris McCausland
As the interview wrapped, the stand-up told how he wanted people to be aware that "more is possible" - before urging them to be kinder to each other.
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Chris - the bookies overwhelming favourite for the title last weekend - pulled through in a stunning three routines with professional partner Dianne.
Yet in a final which relied solely on the public vote, he came out top, trumping fellow finalists Miranda actress Sarah Hadland, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and JLS singer JB Gill to the title.
After the dancefloor action wrapped, it was time for the BBC show stars to party - and he was seen clutching the Glitterball as he was joined by former show Janette Marara for the after-party.
Speaking directly after his win, a shocked Chris said: "It’s astonishing. I don’t know what to say.
"I honestly thought I could go out in the first week or two. We have just lasted and lasted.
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He then thanked his Aussie partner Dianne and said: "She's positivity, she's belief, and she's honestly just one of the easiest people to be funny with.
"She deserves this so much. She's just honestly one of the easiest people to be funny with the other and unless she changes her number, she's stuck with me."