Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC’s biggest TV entertainment show, has gone out in style in its 20th anniversary year, crowning blind comedian Chris McCausland this year’s champion after an emotional final.
The dance show – the BBC’s original show that paved the way for dozens of international versions (including the US’s Dancing with the Stars) – had had a chequered few months, weathering a string of controversies, with two professional dancers accused of abusive behaviour in rehearsals (both denied) and a group of new guidelines introduced to protect celebrities’ welfare.
What the show desperately needed were some positive headlines to sideline these bad stories, and that’s what it has enjoyed – with this series combining unprecedented standards of dancing, and an inspiring champion in blind comedian Chris McCausland.
For the first few weeks of this series, McCausland remained at the bottom of the leaderboard, saved regularly by the public’s vote. But each week, he became braver and more ambitious with his dancing, culminating in a spectacular moment during week 8 when he twirled his partner above his head while the audience cheered.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the popular Liverpudlian collected his Glitterball trophy and paid tribute to the efforts of his professional partner, Dianne Buswell in using unconventional methods in teaching him to dance.
Charities for visually-impaired people have been quick to applaud the win, applauding McCausland’s efforts in showing what is possible for disabled people.
Apart from his victory, the show has enjoyed some other feel-good stories – one celebrity Tasha Ghouri, who wears a cochlear implant since being born deaf, has ‘blinged up’ her hearing device each week, and her watching fans has followed suit. Pop singer J B Gill’s professional partner Amy Dowden had to leave the contest due to injury but he made it to the final with a substitute dancer, and actress Sarah Hadland proved what was possible for older women, scoring a row of 10 marks from the judges for her final routine of the night. All in all, it was quite the series, and the BBC can breathe again – their golden egg of a show has been rescued.
