BBC Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland’s trophy ‘taken back’ after show

Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland made history on Saturday night as he became the first visually-impaired star to lift the Glitterball trophy

Chris McCausland made Strictly Come Dancing history by becoming the first visually-impaired contestant to win the Glitterball trophy. The 47 year old was overcome with emotion as he was announced as the champion of the BBC show on Saturday night (December 14).

Former Strictly pro Brendan Cole, 48, shared his thoughts on Chris’s victory alongside his dance partner Dianne Buswell, 35. Speaking on behalf of Sky Vegas, Brendan admitted he was “surprised” by Chris’s win.

“I was, to a point, surprised to see him [Chris McCausland] win, because the dancing was pretty average – and generally people do want a good dancer to win,” Brendan said. “I thought they’re probably going to push it in JB [Gill’s ] direction, because that’s the way the judges have seemed to want it to go throughout the series. I wouldn’t agree with that however, as for me, it had to be Tasha [Ghouri] or Chris [McCausland].”

Brendan added: “I’m pleased in that respect, because in my opinion, they [JB Gill and Lauren Oakley] have not been deserving of the marks they’ve been getting for the most part. Tasha [Ghouri] was the most accomplished dancer. She is the best celeb to ever do the show – but she has had a lot of dance training so you kind of expect perfection from her,” he told the Express.

Brendan Cole has spoken about Chris McCausland’s win (
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(Image: Getty))

Chris and Dianne delighted the nation when they were crowned the winners (
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(Image: BBC))

“From a non-dance point of view, Chris is the right one. It’s a lovely story – being blind and having to do everything without visually seeing how to learn dancing, it’s quite an amazing thing, he’s done very well.” Chris, who lost his sight due to retinitis pigmentosa in his 20s and 30s and became the first blind contestant to triumph in the series, was overjoyed as he was awarded the Glitterball trophy. After his win, he and his dance partner Dianne jubilantly hoisted the trophy high on the dance floor.

After winning the show, Chris told host Tess Daly: “It’s astonishing, I don’t know what to say. I thought I would go out in the first week or two. We have lasted and lasted and she has got so much out of me, she deserves this so much.” He added: “This is for her and for everyone out there who thought… who got told they couldn’t do something or thought they couldn’t do it. With opportunity and support and determination anything can happen.” A teary Dianne told him it was “for both of them”, screaming: “We did it!”

But, as it turns out, the big shiny trophy sits with the BBC, whilst the winners are given a scaled-down version to cherish at home. It seems that Chris too had to return the large one presented during the show. 2020 Strictly champ Bill Bailey mentioned the little-known fact about the trophy on Radio X in 2021, explaining: “A bloke came up to me from Production and asked for the trophy back.”

“You don’t get to keep it. You just, you know, you can hold it, but you don’t keep it. They give you a little one, a little replica one about the size of a grapefruit. So he came over with a black bin bag.”