Comedian Chris McCausland joked he has "never watched" Strictly Come Dancing as he was revealed as the first blind contestant to take part in the show.
He was unveiled on ITV's This Morning as the first official contestant for the 2024 series and said: "This is literally the worst-kept secret there has ever been in British television."
It had been widely reported that the 47-year-old would be joining the line-up.
He said: "I think it’s been out there - it’s been exhausting keeping a secret everyone seems to know."
Asked how he feels about taking part, he said: "Apprehensive, massively apprehensive.
"I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. I’ve never watched it, obviously. It’s just some music."
He added: "I don’t dance, I have never danced. I grew up with headbanging and mosh pits."
McCausland lost his sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye disease, which causes gradual degeneration of the retina.
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."
McCausland has hosted his own show on ITV on Saturday mornings and has also featured on panel shows such as Have I Got News For You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and QI.
JLS member JB Gill has also become the second Strictly Come Dancing contestant to be officially announced.
Gill has had five UK number one singles and a UK number one album as a part of the boyband, and went on to present the BBC’s Songs Of Praise, following the group’s 2013 break-up.
In 2020, JLS reformed with Gill returning.
The announcements come after swimmer Tom Dean announced he will be appearing on the show after reaching the final of the men’s 200 metres individual medley in the Paris 2024 Olympics last week.
The popular BBC dancing show has made headlines recently after a storm of controversy over the alleged treatment of contestants on the show.
The results of an investigation, launched by the BBC following allegations made about Giovanni Pernice by former participant Amanda Abbington, have not yet been published by the corporation.
Pernice rejects the allegations and fellow dancer Graziano Di Prima has also left the show.
Source: Press Association
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
