Chris McCausland was 'terrified' about having children with wife Patricia
Chris McCausland is quickly becoming a favourite in this year's Strictly ballroom as he makes history as the first blind contestant. But away from the dancefloor he is a father of one - something which the comedian hasn't always found easy.
In an interview with Gyles Brandreth, the Have I Got News For You star revealed that the prospect of having a child "terrified" him.
"I was in such a dilemma about it because I knew I would regret not having kids, but the thought of having kids terrified me," Chris explained.
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Chris' parenting revelation
"The idea of being a parent and all of the things I was going to be unable to do properly. My dad, all the things he used to do with me as a kid, taking me to different places, and the time he put in helping me build things.
"You go, 'How am I going to be able to do those things - I'm not going to be a proper dad, I'm going to be a half dad'. That kind of really caused me a lot of torment in my head," the Would I Lie To You star added.
The Scared of the Dark star also revealed that before his daughter was born he believed he would find fatherhood easier if he were to have a daughter.
"Weirdly, I think I wanted a girl because I figured if we got a girl I could be a loving dad, but some of the practical obligations that fall on dads they'd fall more on [his wife] Patricia because she'd be a girl," Chris admitted.
"There wouldn't be blokes' things that I would then not be able to take my son to. But being a dad has been amazing."
Chris' sight loss
The comedian's sight loss is a result of having retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare eye disease which, according to Moorfields Eye Hospital, causes "the gradual degeneration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina".
Chris was diagnosed with RP at the age of 22 and his sight started to deteriorate throughout his university years which he has previously described as a "scary and embarrassing" time.
"I knew I would never be on a level playing field with everyone else," the ballroom star shared. "The technology available at that time wasn’t advanced enough, so I had to abandon my career path in web development."
DISCOVER:Strictly's Chris McCausland brings fans to tears after moving first dance with Dianne Buswell
In an episode of Scared of the Dark, the Not Going Out actor explained that he can "still see light and space" and has "an awareness of the space around me, not in terms of objects and things, but in terms of the room and whether there might be something in front of me".
