Chris McCausland lived a very ordinary pre-fame life before he found fame as a comedian but there is a sad reason he quit his normal job. The 47-year-old has been open about going blind more than 20 years ago and how he has coped since. Chris started losing his sight between the ages of 16 and 21 due to retinitis pigmentosa.
This is a condition which sees sufferers lose their sight as the light-sensing cells of the retina gradually deteriorate. Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina - the light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Before finding comedy, Chris lived a relatively normal life working as a web developer.
However, when he lost his sight, Chris had to give up his job. He has explained in the past that his eyesight got worse so he had to leave the IT industry completely. He then got a job in a call centre while he figured out what his next move would be.
He then built up the courage to give stand-up comedy a go and he hasn't stopped since. Chris was recognised when he took part in a new act comedy night in 2003 and he won the Jongleurs J2O Last Laugh competition. Chris' comedy career soon took off and he had a seven year term at the Edinburgh Fringe and an appearance on Live At The Apollo in 2018.
The star revealed that before finding comedy, he applied to be a spy with MI5 but failed to get the job due to his eyesight. He told The guardian: "I got down to the last 30 out of 3,000 for MI5 selection. Eventually, I got refused because of my eyesight.
Fair play. It's perfectly acceptable to discriminate for the safety of the nation. The job was identifying and targeting terrorist threats, which obviously you need to do in a limited amount of time.
" One of Chris's first television appearances was on CBeebies show Me Too! from 2006 to 2008. He has also starred in programmes such as Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, QI, The Last Leg, and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Most recently, he has been on Celebrity Gogglebox and last year he was a contestant on Channel 4's Scared of the Dark.
His most recent project is taking to the dancefloor on Strictly Come Dancing as the first ever blind contestant. He has been paired up with Dianne Buswell and he has already admitted that he can't dance. He said: "If anybody out there is thinking - How the hell is he going to do that? - then rest assured that I am thinking exactly the same thing.
I don't dance, I haven't danced, I can't dance, I can't see the dancing I will have to do. What can possibly go wrong? Ok don't answer that..
.!" Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads ..
