Strictly's Chris McCausland almost had a very different career after losing eyesight

Strictly Come Dancing's Chris McCausland, is one of the country's most popular comedians, however he almost ended up with a very different career after his eyesight deteriorated

Strictly Come Dancing star, Chris McCausland, almost had a very different - and dangerous- career before becoming a stand-up comedian.

The 47-year-old, who is the BBC series' first blind contestant, is a popular comic and has appeared on a host of TV shows, including Channel 4's Scared of the Dark.

However, after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, aged 22, which is a hereditary condition, which causes eyesight to deteriorate, he thought about becoming a spy.

Chris started out as a web developer before moving onto sales as he started to lose his eyesight however, before landing his sales gig, he applied to MI5.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Saturday Live, he said: "I started applying for crazy stuff, just for a laugh — so I applied to MI5. They need to recruit just like anyone else. They have a graduate scheme and they were looking for spies. So I put my application in."

He continued: "I don’t know if I am allowed to say this, but a spy isn’t a James Bond character. A spy is somebody who runs agents, members of the public with information. So you’ve got to go out and meet them in staked-out locations and trade information, and that’s what they were looking for."

After putting his application, Chris was whittled down from 3,000 to 30 in impressive stats. However, the dad-of-one says he ultimately lost out on the job due to his eyesight as he claimed the secretive agency: "came to their senses".

He explained: ''I went through a lot of different stages, from the psychometric tests through to a full-day assessment, where I had to sift through all this information and identify the threat and have a meeting with the surveillance team. I did quite well."

However, the star revealed he was eventually declined for the role due to his visual impairment, with Chris recalling that he was glad he didn't get the gig. He joked: "Basically, if there had been a bomb, it would have taken me a little bit too long to find out who had it." He concluded: "I don’t want to live in a country that would give me that job! Sometimes I think discrimination is perfectly acceptable.'

After nearly landing a job at MI5 and working in sales, Chris soon embarked on a career as a stand-up. He then tried his hand in comedy during a new act comedy night in 2003 and was soon spotted for his humour after winning the Jongleurs J2O Last Laugh competition, before gaining recognition in other competitions.

Chris' career soon skyrocketed with a seven-year stint at the Edinburgh Fringe and an appearance on Live At The Apollo in 2018, before continuing on to make several TV appearances.

He is now wowing Strictly fans as he takes to the dancefloor with professional partner, Dianne Buswell. The couple's explosive cha cha cha was such a hit on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night it's got everyone talking about how he manages to pull off such fancy footwork despite being blind.

The comedian, best known for his role as Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!, shared how he and his dance partner prepare for their routines by completing a checklist before they get started.

He told us: "I have to have a little breather, and start in my own time. 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?"

However, the pair have to be on high alert as Dianne accidentally kicked the comic in the face during rehearsals. Chris joked: “Every time we start, it's like that scene in Lethal Weapon where they're in the bathroom and there's a bomb, 'Do we go on the three or the one?'."

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