Chris McCausland wasn't sure 'Strictly Come Dancing' would be "worth the risk".
Dianne Buswell and Chris McCausland are in the Strictly final
The 47-year-old blind comedian is "very proud" to have made the final of the BBC Latin and ballrom competition with partner Dianne Buswell because he was keen to "represent in a positive way" but he was initially concerned about the message it would have sent out if he had proven to be a "terrible" dancer.
Writing in his column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Chris reflected: "I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved and how it’s been received, and just the effect that it seems to have had on people’s attitudes towards disability. We’ve had so many lovely messages. And that’s the whole point of being on this show for me – to represent in a positive way, not in a sob-story way.
"If I’m honest, I didn’t know whether 'Strictly' was worth the risk, because I didn’t know if it was achievable. If I’d been terrible, it would have been no good for anybody – all it would have proved is that somebody with a disability can’t compete.
"But, with my amazing teacher Dianne by my side, we’ve managed it."
And Chris feels he has earned his place in the final and not just been put through on the "sympathy" vote.
He said: "We’ve also made it to the finish line without ever once having less points than the person eliminated, so I don’t feel like we’ve been kept in on sympathy. I’m proud that we’ve deserved our place each week."
However, the comic wishes he'd spent more time preparing for the show in the months leading up to rehearsals as he still doesn't feel fit enough.
He said: "I’ve learnt to let myself go more and more as we’ve continued. If I could turn the clock back I’d probably spend six months beforehand getting fitter. Even last week I couldn’t physically talk after our Viennese Waltz."
As well as his friendship with Dianne, Chris has grown close to a number of the other male contestants from this year.
He admitted: "Paul [Merson] and Nick [Knowles] have been supporting me from the sidelines and Pete [Wicks] has become like a brother to me. We’ve promised we’ll go for a slap-up meal together once we’re out of dance prison."
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