Diane Buswell praises Strictly partner Chris McCausland after amazing first dance
Chris is the show's first-ever blind contestant
The 20th anniversary series of Strictly Come Dancing graced our screens on Saturday night (21st September), as the first live show took place with this year's celebs showing off their moves on the famous dancefloor.
Whilst the like of JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri and Sarah Hadland all scored high with the judges, it was comedian Chris McCausland and his professional partner Dianne Buswell who really stole the show.
Chris, who is the show's first-ever blind contestant, performed a Cha Cha to 'Twist and Shout' by The Beatles, with the 47-year-old receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience, and picking up an impressive score of 23/40.
Watch Chris and Dianne's performance below:
Following the incredible routine, Australian dancer Dianne took to social media to express her love and pride for Chris, calling him a 'legend' in the process.
She wrote: 'Wow what a night ! I can truly say dancing last night with Chris was one of my most memorable dance experiences I have ever had!
'He said to me before we went out let’s not tell our selves we are going to be amazing because that’s just adding pressure , he said let’s tell ourselves we’re just going to go and have fun !! Followed by a Di what the #%*% am I doing here 🤣🤣🤣
'Thank you for your trust Chris your an absolute LEGEND and I can not wait to share that floor with you as many times as we get the chance too 🙏🥹💜 @chrismccauslandcomedy @bbcstrictly'. (sic)
Viewers were quick to praise Chris' routine, with one writing: 'I'm literally crying... THIS WAS A MOMENT OF PURE JOY & PRIDE!!!! Dianne, you've done a marvellous job working with Chris. Chris, you're my hero!!!!' (sic)
Another wrote: 'Me and my mum were in awe, what fantastic choreography by Dianne, he is an absolute natural on the dance floor', with another adding: 'Absolutely amazing! Chris has danced even better than people with sight! Well done to Dianne for being a fantastic teacher and choreographer'. (sic)
Somebody else wrote: 'I hope Chris is extremely happy & proud of his routine tonight. He did the blind/visually impaired community very proud tonight'. (sic)
Past and present Strictly stars were also quick to comment on Chris' show stopping performance.
Former winner Kelvin Fletcher wrote: 'Give him the glitterball! What a spirit! ❤️🕺', with current contestant Nick Knowles adding: 'I was bouncing up and down with joy - truly brilliant!'. (sic)
Laura Whitmore wrote: 'Wow!!!! The energy, the skill! Congrats 🙌🏻 xxx', with Emmerdale actress Amy Walsh adding: 'This performance blew me fully away!!!! Tears poured from my eyes at how inspirational @chrismccauslandcomedy is!!!!! Well done to both of you! 🤩'. (sic)
Chris finished in 6th place on the leaderboard, behind JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri, Sarah Hadland, Montell Douglas and Wynne Evans.
There was no elimination during Week One, with the judges' scores being taken over to next weekend's live show.
Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday and Sunday night on BBC One.
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