Chris McCausland fiercely defended by fans as BBC Strictly victory branded ‘woke’ by furious viewers
Chris McCausland has been supported by a vast majority of the BBC Strictly fandom after facing backlash from some over his victory on Saturday night.
The blind comedian saw off Tasha Ghouri, JB Gill and Sarah Hadland in the grand finale after performing three final routines with Aussie dance partner, Dianne Buswell.
The comic was the outright bookies’ favourite prior to the finale and by the time Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced the winner, it turned out bookmakers were right to back McCausland.
In the finale, it was left entirely down to the public to determine who’d lift the Glitterball Trophy as the judges’ scores didn’t go toward the final vote.
McCausland had finished bottom of the night’s leaderboard with his score of 116, narrowly behind Hadland in third with 118.
Ghouri and Gill were joint top of the leaderboard with near-perfect scores of 119 a piece, a result that led some fans to feel they were hard done by in the battle to lift the Glitterball.
“It’s astonishing… I don’t know what to say,” McCausland told Daly when announced as this year’s winner. “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.
“We just lasted and lasted and she has got so much out of me,” he added as he gestured towards Buswell. “She deserves this so much.
“Every day – her positivity, her belief, and she is just honestly one of the easiest people to be funny with. Unless she changes her number she’s stuck with me.
“And this is for her and for everyone out there that was told they couldn’t do something. It shows that opportunity, and support, and just determination just – anything can happen.”
Buswell then weighed in: “Chris says that this is for me but this is not for me, this me and you Chris, we did this together.
“This is for both of us, not just me. We worked together and we did it!”
Their co-stars soon rushed to celebrate with Buswell and McCausland as they held the trophy aloft, with tears aplenty among the cast of 2024.
But on social media, murmurs of discontent were rife among some of the BBC show’s fans, including one X user who hit out: “Ridiculous result #STRICTLY #wokery. On dance quality alone, Tasha or JB, then Sarah, then Chris.
“Thought meant to vote on the BEST DANCE. Not best sob story, or hardest challenges. Love Chris, A MAZE ING what he’s achieved & he’s funny too. But NOT the best dancer.”
A second also hit out: “JB never stood a chance from the beginning. What a load of rubbish. Oh well. Glad I’m never bothering with that anymore. An awful end to what has been a truly horrific year for me #Strictly.”
Elsewhere, a third harshly commented: “BREAKING: Worst scoring and worst skilled finalist wins a DANCING competition based off the back of public tears. Tasha, JB and Sarah you were done so so dirty I’m so sorry. #Strictly.”
But while McCausland may not have topped the finale leaderboard, several fans rushed to his defence given his perseverance and impressive routines despite his disability.
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Hitting back at the furore directly, one person typed: “The people who are so angry that Chris won because he wasn’t the best dancer, bro have you been watching this show for the last 20/15 years… #strictly.”
Another also addressed the criticism: “For the people moaning, Chris showed huge potential from week 1. He has been consistently talented throughout the entire show. It’s not a ‘pity win’ or ‘woke’, it’s because he and Dianne are an amazing partnership, and he danced incredibly well. They deserved to win. #Strictly.”
And a third simply praised: “#StrictlyComeDancing #Strictly Chris is an inspiration. Diane is a fantastic professional dancer. Fully deserved winners.” (sic)
Soon after the result, the BBC Strictly Instagram account shared a video of Buswell and McCausland thanking fans for their support.
The comic branded the support as “remarkable” while Buswell branded the victory a “dream come true”.