Chris McCausland never tuned into Strictly: ‘First time I heard the theme tune was in episode one’

Chris McCausland never watched ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ before starring on the show.

The 47-year-old comedian has been dazzling on the dance floor with his partner Dianne Bushwell, 35, and has now won a place on Saturday’s (14.12.24) final, though Chris has admitted the BBC programme was never on his “radar” before he signed on.

At a recent press conference, he said: “'Strictly' just wasn’t on my radar. The first time I heard the theme tune was in episode one.

"I didn’t watch the show, obviously. I had no emotional connections to it whatsoever. It was other people telling me they thought I should really give this some consideration.

“I’ve really come to appreciate how it matters to people, how it lifts their mood, how it helps people overcome their own issues.”

Chris - who has 11-year-old daughter Sophie with his wife Patrica - added his “fear was immense” when he first stepped onto the dance floor, but he wanted to “challenge” himself to do “new things”.

He said: “I need to know that I can do good and represent myself and represent other people well.

“My daughter was terrified when I started this. She was so nervous for me, in case I fell over, in case I embarrassed myself.

“As it’s gone on, she’s really got a lot better with it and she’s come to really look forward to it and enjoy it.”

‘The Wonders of the World I Can’t See’ star will be dancing to the Liverpool FC anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry And The Pacemakers in the final, and has said he now understands “that people love ‘Strictly’ in the same way” as football.

He said: “I wouldn’t want to get rid of football. People love it. I now appreciate that people love ‘Strictly’ in the same way. It matters to people.”

Reflecting on his upcoming last performance, Chris said it would be bittersweet to finally part ways with Dianne.

He reflected: “We’ve spent so much time together over these last three months. Our last dance is going to be our waltz to ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

“It’s an emotional song anyway and I just had this little thought of us ending the dance and that being the end of everything we’ve ever done. It just gets me emotional.”

As well as his footie-inspired performance, Chris will also dance to New Radicals’ ‘You Get What You Give’.

Chris will be competing against former ‘Love Island’ star Tasha Ghouri, JLS singer JB Gill and ‘Miranda’ actress Sarah Hadland for the Glitterball trophy, though never anticipated he’d make it this far into the competition.

He quipped: “I thought I’ll just figure it out as we’re going along.”