Strictly Chris McCausland breaks silence on 'discriminatory' sambathon (2024)

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Chris McCauslandhas broken his silence after furious Strictly fans branded the Samba-thon'discriminatory, unfair and in poor taste'.

The blind comedian, 47, took to the dancefloor on Saturday night to compete in a high drama Samba-thon involving all seven couples on the floor at the same time.

But viewers thought Chris was at an unfair disadvantage because he has no concept of spatial awareness, despite judges actively encouraging the celebs 'move around' the floor.

Chris and his professional dance partner Dianne were the first couple to be sent off of the ballroom floor.

Going off the dancefloor first meant Chris and Dianne were only awarded one point, placing them second to bottom of the judges' scoreboard.

But in their solo performance later in the episode, they delivered a fiery pasodoble for their performance tonight, which earned them 32 points.

Fans on X wrote: 'I find it shocking they chose this year to bring back the sambathon when Chris cannot see any of the other couples/be spatially aware of other couples. Like of course he's gonna get voted off first? Not in good taste in my opinion',

'I'm sorry but the sambathon was very discrimatory against Chris, he had no perception of where the others were and he wasn't able to do half the moves the other couples were doing because he had to be connected to Dianne, very poor from',

'Had it been an annual thing, that’s one thing… but they chose to bring it back!!! It was deliberated! Selected! Put in place! With a BLIND and very popular contestant! MAD!!!',

'Could have had money on Chris being the 1st out. Wholly unfair. The way he cheered for the 1 point, I think was his way of saying f you',

'To be honest it was a bit of a joke as far as Chris was concerned, and it obviously didn’t bother him. He’s going to get through anyway, it’s the rest that are scrabbling for places'.

After viewers branded the samba-thon 'discriminatory' towards Chris, he took to Instagram to reflect on his performance.

He wrote: 'I was really proud of our dance on Saturday, and as for the Sambathon….[zipped-mouth emoji] ….Well thank you so much for all of your votes.

'You really did help us survive double Latin! See you tomorrow partner [Dianne Buswell], I'll be bringing earplugs❤️'

The TV alum, who is the first blind contestant to take part in the hit BBC show, said he feels like a 'bendy Spiderman' in rehearsals as he figures out the steps.

Chris admitted that Diane initially 'didn't have a clue' how to teach him choreography with the pair trying many different methods.

Appearing onThe Graham Norton Show on Friday, he explained: 'When we started, we didn’t have a clue how we would do it so decided to wing it and see what happens. I had never been taught to dance and Dianne had never taught anyone that couldn’t see.

'She sometimes describes what needs doing, sometimes I have to get on my hands and knees and figure out what she is doing with her legs and feet, and sometimes she picks a part of me and put it where she wants it.'

He added: 'I’m like a bendy Spiderman! But whatever it is we are doing it is working.'

Reflecting on their performance last weekend Chris said: 'Being at Blackpool was wonderful – it’s like the Wembley of ballroom dancing.

'I’m actually surprised I’m still in it. It was perfect and I celebrated like I’d won the FA cup!'