Chris McCausland, who landed the Glitterball Trophy last year, opened up about a surprising habit of Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, whom Dianne Buswell labelled "brilliant" and "so funny"
Chris McCausland has spilled the beans on a humorous backstage habit of Strictly star Claudia Winkleman, who earned high praise from his former dance partner. He made the revelation on the Winning Isn't Everything podcast.
Chris' former dance partner, Dianne Buswell, expressed her fondness for Claudia, describing her as "brilliant" and "so funny". Dianne mentioned Claudia laughing more during the results show with Chris than in previous series.
This prompted Chris to share a comical anecdote about Claudia's tendency to feed people backstage. According to the comedian, Claudia would constantly try to feed him and others during filming, particularly when contestants finished their dances.
He described it as the presenter "trying to feed ya". Chris explained that she'd shove snacks, such as chocolate pretzels, into their faces while issuing a playful demand.
Chris recalled the amusing encounter: "During the show, like, when you're filming, she'd just be trying to feed ya - all the time.
So, if you were up there when people are dancing and that, like if you were already up there because you'd done your dance and you were up there, like, she'd be trying to shove chocolate pretzels down your face."
Chris then revealed Claudia's words as she fed him the snack: "'C'mon, get them down ya. What's wrong with ya? What's wrong with ya?'". Dianne chimed in, sharing that during show dress runs, Claudia would often instruct people to "not look over here" while doing her grocery shopping.
Last year, Chris became a trailblazer on Strictly as the show's first-ever blind contestant and triumphed in the competition with partner Dianne. Their standout performance also earned them a BAFTA TV Award.
Their dance to "You'll Never Walk Alone" captured hearts and clinched the title for most unforgettable TV moment of the year. Although Chris couldn't be there to accept the award in person, Dianne did the honours.
On stage, she expressed: “In one minute and 30 seconds of a dance, I feel like this told such a story. A story of hope, determination, resilience and vulnerability. This moment meant so much to the both of us, so I’m just so thrilled that we have this.”
Chris explained his absence at the BAFTA ceremony via an Instagram video, expressing his pride in Dianne's representation and calling her speech "amazing."
He said: "We only went and won a BAFTA! I'm very proud of her representing the two of us. Her speech was amazing. I'm actually in Warrington, I've had two shows here today and these are the shows I cancelled to do Strictly.... I couldn't exactly cancel a second time to go to the BAFTAs, could I?"
Chris added that he "thought Gavin & Stacey could win" before thanking everyone for voting and joking that he hopes they "get two of them" to avoid any arguments over sharing the prize.
