Lord Alan Sugar blasts ‘sick’ accusation after Chris McCausland Strictly row

Lord Alan Sugar has hit out at the notion that he called disabled contestants on Strictly Come Dancing a ‘gimmick’, blasting the accusation as ‘sick’.

Following the latest episode of the BBC dance competition, The Apprentice star shared a fiery post on X hitting out at the series.

In his message, the 77-year-old said: ‘I don’t know when Strictly Come Dancing are going to run out of contestant gimmicks. I would not be surprised if they had a AI mechanical robot next year. @bbcstrictly.’

Some people on X interpreted this comment to be about comedian Chris McCausland, 47, who’s the first blind celebrity ever to take part in Strictly, and has become a fan-favourite with his pro partner Dianne Buswell.

In response to Lord Sugar’s tweet, Chris wrote: ‘I am sorry my gimmick offends you oh mighty Lord. #YoureTired,’ before joking that he’s an ‘AI robot’.

Several people offered the comic words of support, including one from a fan called Gareth, who said: ‘Take no notice of Lord Sugar Chris he’s just furious that you was asked to do Strictly and he wasn’t good luck for next Saturday though.’

Dani also shared: ‘Answered perfectly Chris 👏 If your comments are aimed at individuals with disabilities you should be ashamed of yourself @Lord_Sugar 😡.’

However, Lord Sugar later disputed the idea that his remark was about people with disabilities.

In response to the TV star’s original tweet, the Royal National Institute of Blind People wrote in a tweet: ‘Hi @Lord_Sugar, I’m a blind person. I can’t believe I’m having to say this, but disabilities aren’t gimmicks.

‘Having disability representation on @BBCStrictly makes people like me feel seen. It shows what we can do, not what we can’t do. There’s nothing gimmicky about that.’

After the organisation received messages of support from other X users, Lord Sugar said in a follow-up message: ‘Why are you assuming I am referring to disabled people. You make me sick.’

Chris and Dianne are yet to have a bad night on Strictly and keep upping their game, having earned rapturous applause for a very special reason with their latest routine, as judge Shirley Ballas praised him for defying the odds with a series of spectacular, albeit terrifying, lifts.

The fan-favourite duo moved with high energy around the ballroom floor, donning bright purple and yellow outfits and bringing the party to the BBC studios.

What really got people talking, though, was how Chris flung Dianne into the air, swinging her between his legs, carrying her over his head, and ending the dance by holding her upside down.

It was a real spectacle, as Strictly viewers asked how Chris was able to pull off such stunts with ease despite his sight loss.

Echoing what audiences were saying in their living rooms, head judge Shirley told Chris in her feedback: ‘Everybody’s leaving me a little bit speechless today, and so is this number.

‘I’ve had to do a lot of lifts throughout my career, Chris, and it took real eye timing with one person to the other. Sense of timing, ready when you’re supposed to bend your knees, and both of you go into the lift, so I can’t even imagine how you managed to do that so flawlessly, and you can’t see!

‘And on top of that, you kept your music, she was up, down, round, you didn’t miss a trick, you could absolutely everywhere you needed to be and stayed in time with the music.

‘I’m telling you from my heart, that is absolutely impressive.’

Shirley was far from the only one keen to shower Chris with compliments.

Anton Du Beke insisted that he would ‘judge [Chris] the way [they] do everybody else,’ and criticised his ‘plonky’ footwork, but proceeded to hail Chris’s dance as ‘one of the most remarkable things’ he had ever seen in his life.

Even Craig Revel Horwood, who began a jokey feud with Chris at the start of the series, was keen to praise him.

The judge, who was born Down Under, put on an Aussie accent for the Australian-themed routine, telling Chris and Dianne that their performance ‘took [him] back’.

Motsi Mabuse added: ‘The atmosphere here after this dance was incredible,’ before praising the development of Chris’s Latin dancing.

‘It’s a joy to watch you and I fall in love with your musicality every single time.’

Speaking to Claudia Winkleman after their dance, a ‘knackered’ Chris admitted he felt like he had ‘fallen off a horse and been dragged two miles’ after giving the performance his all.

On how they navigated their lifts, Dianne shared: ‘We don’t make it easy, but I honestly trust him with all my heart and likewise, right, Chris?’, to which he agreed.

‘It’s all to do with trust and I think that’s why they work so well.’

Chris then chimed in with a smile: ‘Every week I say to [Dianne], “Are you sure?”‘

The pair scored six from Chris, eight from Motsi, eight from Shirley, and eight from Anton, bringing their total to a respectable 30 out of 40.

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Taking to X afterwards, viewers couldn’t help but express their shock at what Chris managed to achieve.

‘Just how incredibly inspirational is Chris McCausland he is blind and he can do this please keep him in the competition he is AWESOME and those LIFTS’, wrote Mofoman360.

‘chris … i just have no words left at this point, THOSE LIFTS AND SO MANY OF THEM, i’m gobsmacked’, said ultimatesugg.

‘Doing all those lifts flawlessly while BLIND?! Chris and Dianne are winning 1000000000%’, wrote ShirleighShirlz, predicting Chris for glitterball glory.

Chris has spoken openly about his sight loss and frequently uses it as material in his stand-up routines, having joked from launch night that he only expected to stay in Strictly for three weeks.

At the age of 22, Chris lost his vision due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

He previously said he ‘didn’t even really notice it happening’ due to gradually going blind since birth.

While rehearsing for Strictly, he relies on Dianne explaining moves to him in great detail and using her hands to guide him.

Chris has garnered an army of fans since first taking to the floor just four weeks ago, having already survived two eliminations.

Olympic swimmer Tom Dean was the first star out of Strictly 2025, while Toyah Willcox left last week.

Metro.co.uk has contacted representatives for Lord Alan Sugar for comment.