Strictly's Chris McCausland says he felt 'physically sick' during nerve-jangling show

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland has opened up on the sick feeling he felt prior to his live dance on the BBC show after partner Dianne Buswick said he had 'more colour' in his face

Fans were excited to welcome Strictly Come Dancing's live shows back to the screens this weekend, but one contestant had a completely different feeling.

Chris McCausland, 47, admitted he felt physically sick with fear ahead of his first live dance on the hit BBC series. The comedian, who is the first ever blind contestant on the show, performed alongside his professional dance partner Dianna Buswell, 35.

The duo scored a relatively low 23 points for their first attempt, which saw them in joint sixth place on the leaderboard alongside fellow celebs, Jamie Borthwick, Tom Dean and Sam Quek. Chris has since revealed his gut-wrenching feeling prior to performing the Cha Cha.

He confessed to his fear during an Instagram video. In it, partner Dianne told Chris: "I'm so glad you've got a bit more colour in your face than when we started on Saturday."

It was then Chris admitted his true worries, replying: "I was so ill, with fear. The fact that we got through it, it was very emotional wasn't it."

The end of the dance saw both Chris and Dianne breath a sigh of relief and Dianne added: "I was so overwhelmed with kind of relief and emotion at the end of it, I found it difficult to speak and then all the judges said things. I don't know what they said, I really don't know what they said. I remember Craig going and then everyone booing and then the others."

Ever the joker, Chris jibed that he couldn't think of what to say in the moment, so just decided to slag judge Craig Revel-Horwood off. One issue Chris did rise was how long he had to wait to perform on the dance floor. He said the show too the "p***" by making the two wait for almost two hours to strut their stuff, complaining he instead had to stand and pretend to watch other dancers perform for almost two hours.

He explained how prior to his routine he felt like he was being "fed to the lions" as he was guided through the back stage area. Despite calling the situation "horrific", he admitted he was looking forward to taking part in a live show again.

Fans were impressed with his openness, with one user commenting: "Isn't it funny? Chris, a blind man, is telling us so much more about it strictly than I've ever known. I'm in awe and in love with this partnership. So much joy and so much laughter and the cherry on the top is that Chris can dance." w

Another gushed: "Chris is truly giving us an appreciation of all the parts of Strictly we don't think about hahah."

Earlier in the week, Chris revealed his incredible training regime and shared insight into how he perfects his dance moves despite being blind. "I have to have a little breather, and start in my own time,” he explained. “We have to do that thing like they do on the planes. They don't just take off, they have a little checklist. They cross-check the doors, make sure the seats are upright, the blinds are up. I have to go through my checklist in my head - doors to manual. OK, Di?"

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