For much of his life, Chris McCausland was consumed by the pursuit of “normal”. Born with a hereditary eye condition that steadily eroded his vision through childhood and adolescence, the would-be comedian never learned Braille, wouldn’t use the word “blind” – even when legal blindness arrived aged 22 – and refused to walk with a white stick.

“If I’m not identifiably disabled , that gives me the room to pretend I wasn’t,” he reflects. “So I masked my poor eyesight. I always made out I could see more than I could. And I think that desire to be… normal is a horrible word, but that’s how I thought of it – it hindered my acceptance. It got me into more trouble than if I’d just owned it.”

All of which is why, two decades on, McCausland stepping on to the Strictly Come Dancing dance fl

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