Chris McCausland wins Strictly Come Dancing 2024
- The Strictly Come Dancing 2024 winner is comedian Chris McCausland
- He said the win was for "everyone out there who's got told they couldn't do something or thought they couldn't do it"
Chris McCausland has won the 2024 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The first blind contestant on the long-running show, the comedian beat JLS singer JB Gill, Miranda star Sarah Hadland and former Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri in the live final on BBC One on Saturday night.
He lifted the glitterball trophy with his dance partner Dianne Buswell. In an emotional speech he said: "It's astonishing, I don't know what to say. I honestly thought I could go out in the first week or two and I know no-one went out in the first week but I thought I still could."
He said his win was for his dance partner, "and for everyone out there who's got told they couldn't do something or thought they couldn't do it".
He added: "It just shows with opportunity and support and determination, anything can happen."
McCausland and Buswell performed You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers in the final, You Get What You Give by New Radicals as well as Instant Karma by John Lennon. The latter dance was a social media viral moment when they first it performed on the show last month due to the "blackout moment" to link with McCausland's experience with blindness.
Steven Morris from the charity Sense says: "Chris's historic Strictly Come Dancing win goes to show that given opportunities and support, disabled people can break down barriers many wrongly don't think are possible. This is an important moment for representation."
The comic's stand-up tour - Chris McCausland: Yonks! - which started in January, has been repeatedly extended. It will now run until April 2026.
Below is the performance of You Get What You Give by New Radicals: