Over the last 3 months, Chris McCausland, a blind comedian, has been competing in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing competition. In the final, Chris and his professional dance partner performed the emotional and engaging dances to win the competition.
 

Image Description: An AI-generated image of Chris McCausland holding a glitter ball above his head, while wearing a black suit and white shirt.

I haven't followed Strictly before this year but hearing that a fellow blind person was taking part, I wanted to support Chris. I was also curious how good Chris would be. In his own words, he thought he would be out in week one, despite no one normally leaving in week one. During the weeks, I followed Chris's progress, often emotionally as I saw him push himself beyond his comfort zone and shattering people’s limited expectations of blind people.

An Audio Described version can be played on BBC iPlayer.

Chris captured the public’s hearts, being authentic and genuine throughout the series. 8 million people tuned in to see him and Dianne win the final based on a public vote. There was one line in his comments while being interviewed at the end that stood out to me:

it just shows that with opportunity and support and determination, anything can happen.

This is how one Blind man gave 8 million people a ‘Vision’ of what is possible with opportunity, support, and determination.

Only 1 in 4 blind people in the UK are employed. Granted, not all of them will have the musicality and sense of humour Chris has, but most will have talents the employers are missing out on. As part of the blind community, I can tell you firsthand that there is no shortage of determination. It is down to all of us; to challenge our own and others' perceptions to create opportunities and support for people with disabilities. We will all be surprised by what can be achieved when opportunities and support is provided.

As we head into 2025, let's work together to make the world accessible and inclusive, especially the workplace.