Chris McCausland

“I love a bit of heavy-metal.”

“It happens a lot every four years, or it used to, every time the Paralympics comes around. They'll be like: 'We've had this idea to put all these disabled people together in this comedy show. We've had the idea to send all these disabled people away together.' I've always thought that's segregation and not integration.”

“I probably own more guitars than I know chords, mind.”

“I still like 'Die Hard 1,' '2,' and '3' because I know what happens, but I watched '4' after I went blind and it was just one long action scene. It's the same with super hero films. Even if there is audio description on the DVD, they are just like an audio book.”

“Basically, I've played a few blind guys on the telly and I am grateful for those opportunities. In spite of this though, I do not believe that all characters with disabilities need to, or should be played by actors with that disability, and to be honest, I find the outrage surrounding this issue to be quite ridiculous.”

“There's no more immediate criticism than silence, but there's also no more immediate reward than laughter.”

“The problem isn't 'can non-disabled people play disabled people?' The problem is there should be more disabled casting.”

“Disabled people are often some of the most resilient, creative and determined people you will ever likely meet.”

“When it comes to music I love old stuff, especially songs that sound like they are of a specific era. For me all of that ended after the 1980s, with the decades that have followed all just kind of sounding much like one another.”

“I think there are low expectations of people with disabilities - sometimes you'll come down a set of steps into a taxi and people say, 'Wow, how did you do that?'”

“I am blind. I am also a stand-up comedian and actor who has benefited from the desire of a very small number of writers, producers and directors, to not only increase the on screen visibility of characters with disabilities, but also to authentically cast disabled actors in these roles.”

“I came across a thing that said you could be a comedian in two weeks and I thought 'behave - nobody could do that.'”

“I do the 'News Quiz' on Radio Four, but I don't want 'Have I Got News For You' to be morphed into the 'News Quiz' just because I'm on it. They're both great shows.”

“I love mince pies. I love mince pies so much.”

“I want to fit into the electric atmosphere of a live 'Strictly' show and for the crowd to be entertained and not to have the atmosphere flattened to accommodate me. I would rather go out in week two having disastrously immersed myself in the show's noisy energy than get through to week 10 in silence.”

“I'm blind but I don't see black. I still see light and space, I still have 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.”

“I love stand-up, but it has become so normal and natural to me that the buzz comes from the adrenaline of a great show rather than from the fear or nerves of doing something new and unknown.”

“If I travel, there are lots of things I don't like.”

“I remember me and my mate Neil, age 15, screaming the words to a Nirvana song in his bedroom. Let's just say, his neighbour wasn't best impressed!”

“It's great that there's people coming through who are able to represent disability while also having the experience to do the job properly. There's no point fast-tracking performers on to TV before they're ready.”