Strictly Come Dancing enthusiasts have been quick to rally behind Chris McCausland after his off-the-cuff remark to Dianne Buswell was inadvertently revealed.
The BBC One dance extravaganza witnessed an emotional moment this weekend as the sharp-witted comic traded jokes for a heartfelt waltz with Dianne.
Chris, who is celebrated as Strictly’s inaugural blind contestant, and Dianne danced to the iconic Liverpool tune You’ll Never Walk Alone, paying homage to Chris’ cherished hometown and football team.
Their poignant performance elicited a standing ovation from the studio audience, with Dianne expressing to Chris that she was “so proud of him”.
Even the judges, including Shirley Ballas who paused to compose herself, were effusive in their commendation of the dance, rewarding the pair with a score of 35 out of 40 pointstheir highest yet in the competition, reports the Manchester Evening News.
On Sunday night’s (October 20) results show, it was joyously announced that Chris and Dianne had advanced to week six of Strictly’s milestone 20th series, which will be the much-anticipated Halloween special, where they are set to perform a Samba to ‘Stayin Alive’ by The Bee Gees.
However, before they take on their next challenge, Strictly has released a clip recapping the weekend’s ballroom highlights, featuring the hidden microphones worn by the contestants and their professional partners.
Following Chris’ emotive routine, the microphone captured a tender exchange between him and Dianne when he inquired, “Did I do okay? ” which seemed to be met with her saying: “You did so good,” followed by a further outpour of praise and encouragement before they proceeded to approach host Tess Daly for their critiques, leading to Chris tearfully sinking into her embrace.
The post garnered immediate adulation from Strictly aficionados. @mfi87301 applauded, “You did more than ok Chris, you and Dianne created strictly magic.”
@maxbiddle98 remarked, “‘Did I do ok? ‘ This man has no idea how good he is, and I don’t mean because he’s blind.” Meanwhile, @emilyburton848 expressed, “I actually heard Chris and Dianne say that at the end! That just pushed me over the edge. Such an emotional dance.”
@eddo_official pointed out: “Chris doesn’t realise how amazing he is.” Adding to the chorus, @_. jules. _74 chimed in, “If you couldn’t love @chrismccauslandcomedy more, he then asks beautiful @diannebuswell ‘Did I do OK? ‘ Perfect response from Dianne. From nearly everyone watching yes Chris you did more than ok, you were amazing.”