Strictly Come Dancing’s first blind contestant receives standing ovation

Comedian Chris McCausland has received a standing ovation from the Strictly Come Dancing audience for his foxtrot.

McCausland, the show’s first blind contestant, landed a score of 29 after gliding across the dancefloor and performing bench work with his partner Dianne Buswell to Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy by The Tams.

After giving the comic a standing ovation, head judge Shirley Ballas praised him as “an example to every celebrity upstairs when it comes to footwork”.

Fellow judge Motsi Mabuse said the slow foxtrot is one of the most difficult dances but she felt he made it look “so easy” while Anton Du Beke said “you are just wonderful”.

McCausland joked with Craig Revel Horwood that he had to think of an original comment which was not about his frame, to which the judge countered by critiquing his finger positioning but said he “loved” his spirit in the dance and musicality.

Earlier in the show McCausland also poked fun at Revel Horwood following some of his critiques to other contestants, joking: “By the sounds of the way things are going, I think Craig’s blinder than I am.”

Opera singer Wynne Evans impressed the judges with his Viennese waltz, with Du Beke saying it was the dance he wish he could have done.

Dressed in a tuxedo, Evans guided his professional partner Katya Jones across the dancefloor during the elegant performance to operatic number The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II, landing a score of 30.

After the routine, Du Beke said: “There’s always a dance I wished I danced in a show and that’s the one. If I danced it as well as you I’d have been delighted.”

However, Revel Horwood criticised the performance for not having many heel leads but complimented Evans for “commanding control” in the routine.

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson got the studio bouncing along with his joyful salsa to Fireball by Pitbull while wearing pink leopard trousers and a pink floral Hawaiian-style shirt.

He picked up a score of 15 for his performance which featured a dramatic lift that saw Merson flip his partner Karen Hauer from a straddle split position.

Du Beke said his performance “thrilled me no end” and hailed him as “extraordinary” as he joked that he did not want to talk about the technique “because there isn’t any”.

Meanwhile, Revel Horwood said it was like a comedy dance at a wedding but complimented him on the lifts.

Head judge Shirley Ballas added that she was a “little bit lost for words” at the performance but called it “pure entertainment”.

Morning Live’s Dr Punam Krishan brought the “sass” to her foxtrot to Shania Twain’s hit Man! I Feel Like A Woman! with her professional partner Gorka Marquez.

The GP dressed in a black dress with a white suit panel reminiscent of Twain’s outfit in the music video for the performance which saw her strut and perform high kicks.

Before picking up a score of 18, Revel Horwood said he “loved the sass” of the dance and felt she “nailed the characterisation”, but felt she needed to work on her posture.

Ballas agreed as she said the top half of Dr Krishan was “one of the strongest dynamic personalities in the competition” but that her lower half let her down.

Olympian Tom Dean kicked off week two with an energetic cha cha with professional partner Nadiya Bychkova.

Donning sparkly and fringed outfits, the pair twirled and jived their way to a score of 20 for their performance to Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Ballas praised the gold medallist swimmer for being a “good student” as he took her note to stand up straighter, and said she was “very pleased” with him.

Du Beke said he felt Dean shifts between being “really dynamic and a little bit hesitant”, and felt if he stays more on the former side he will be on his way to gold.

However, Revel Horwood felt Dean did not look comfortable and “lacked fluidity”.

Last week professional dancer Amy Dowden topped the judges leaderboard with a score of 31 on her return to the series, after overcoming breast cancer, alongside her celebrity partner JLS singer JB Gill.

Singer Toyah Willcox and dancer Neil Jones performed a tango to Ray Of Light by Madonna which was also criticised by Revel Horwood and received the lowest score of the episode – 12 points.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.