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There is a star that everyone wanted to win Strictly Come Dancing. And on Saturday night he did. Chris McCauslandand his professional partner Dianne Buswell, took home the Glitterball trophy. The comedian’s victory is a moment that transcends the show itself and gave this the controversial BBC juggernaut series a phenomenal, healthy neighborhood.
McCausland’s triumph, since the man lost his sight at the age of 22is a milestone that should definitely be celebrated (and I have no doubt about it Strictly The Class of 2024 will keep the bubble flowing well into the early hours). But behind the scenes, I bet there will be some sighs of relief that this series is over.
This season was marred by scandal before the fake tan was even unpacked, when two pros left amid allegations of abuse in the spring. Giovanni Pernice resigned from the show as a lengthy investigation into his behavior towards his partner in 2023 Amanda Abbington continued ( BBC it has since upheld some of the 17 complaints against him, but cleared him of the most serious ones). Then Graziano di Prima followed Pernice out the door, after admitting kicking his 2023 partner. Zara McDermott during training.
When the series started, Strictly he stuck to his royal PR strategy of “don’t complain, don’t explain” and didn’t acknowledge the behind-the-scenes sagas. But it wasn’t long before there were further controversies in the show (and they would mostly go unmentioned in the program itself).
Singer Toyah Willcox and Olympian Tom Dean found themselves in the unenviable position of being in the first dance match. Despite Dean scoring a full 13 points more than the rocker in the first two weeks and – let’s be honest – showing a lot more promise, the judges voted to save Willcox. Cue the hundreds of outraged tweets claiming favoritism was at play, as a dejected Dean admitted he was “lost” and his clearly furious pro partner Nadiya Bychkova wrote on Instagram: “[Dean] he will go on to bigger and better things.” It was hard not to feel bad for the Olympian, who certainly had a lot more to give in the competition. For their part, the judges almost redeemed themselves when they eliminated Willcox the following week.
Just two weeks later, we had a “manual gate”. GoCompare man Wynne Evans was successful on the show and unexpectedly impressed with his routines – but his Strictly travel saw a big jump in the fourth week. During the Clauditorium segment, Evans was caught on camera sliding his hand down partner Katya Jones’ waist, before she moved it up with a tight smile.
Another clip from the same episode appeared to show Jones rejecting Evans’ offer of a high-five and then walking away, seemingly annoyed. The video (rightly) struck a chord with many viewers, especially women who have seen and experienced this type of behavior time and time again. Both videos went viral and prompted backpedaling from Jones and Evans, who posted a slightly bizarre apology video and insisted they were only joking, before appearing on the spinoff show It takes two to make the same protests. The pair lasted another five weeks in the competition, but it’s fair to say things weren’t quite the same for them after the wandering hand saga.
The show suffered another blow when Amy Dowden – fresh back from cancer treatment – was forced to pull out of her triumphant comeback series due to a foot injury. For me, Dowden’s untimely departure was one of the low points of the series. It was such a joy to see her back on the show after an incredibly difficult year and it would be so touching to see her dance with JB Gill in the final. Although it must be said, this situation seems to have been handled well. Lauren Oakley came in to dance with Gill, first on a temporary basis and then permanently. She often expressed gratitude to Dowden for teaching the JLS singer and insisted she was still part of their team.
And there was Pete Wicks. Not since 2008, when John Sergeant dragged poor Kristina Rihanoff across the ballroom, has there been so much talk about a contestant’s lack of skill. While the journalist eventually quit his series in mid-November of that year – citing “a real danger that I might win the competition” – TOWIE star Wicks soldier. As he explained in his VTs, the reformed lothario felt he owed it to the viewers who voted for him to keep dancing. Even though said dance mostly involved stomping around in hot pink PVC pants and footwork torture. Thankfully, we were spared another week of discourse when Wicks finally ended up in the dance-off last week and left the competition.
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Going into Saturday night’s grand final, statistically it seemed like anything could happen. Tasha Ghouri was top of the charts for the most part, but broke into the dance in the previous two weeks (although Anton Du Beke later called her the best celebrity dancer the show has ever seen). Meanwhile, Gill and Sarah Hadland were hot on her heels. McCausland, it must be said, was the weakest shooter in the group. But here’s the thing Strictly: whatever anyone says, it’s about much more than dancing.
McCausland’s tenure on the show will rightfully go down as one of the greatest in the show’s history. Reserved for laughs, he surprised judges and viewers alike by showing a real knack for dancing (and amazing musicality) in the series’ early episodes. He then went from strength to strength, mastering tricky lifts that were only possible because Buswell truly trusted her partner. The judges rightly promised to criticize him like any star, making no concessions due to the fact that he is blind. But as McCausland’s skills grew and grew, the weight of his accomplishments was undeniable.
In Saturday night’s finale, he reduced the panel to tears on more than one occasion and no matter what happened, he would always come out victorious. Fortunately, for once the British public got a place to vote. And when it comes to summing up McCausland’s Strictly journey, Motsi Mabuse explained it best. “You said in your VT that you are a role model for the blind community,” she said. “But I think at this point you are a role model for all of us.”