Chris McCausland heartbreakingly recalls moment his daughter said he was ‘broken’ as she recognised his blindness

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Chris McCausland shared a touching and sad story about the moment his daughter noticed something was wrong with his eyes.

The 47-year-old comedian and television personality lost his sight in his early twenties due to an inherited eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

I was so happy to hear about the arrival of his daughter, Sophie, back in 2013 with his wife, Patricia. It really touched me when he shared that he’d initially felt guilty about becoming a dad, worrying his blindness would hold him back from being the father Sophie deserved. It was incredibly honest and relatable, and honestly made me admire him even more.

In his memoir, Keep Laughing, he recounted a challenging time, explaining that Patricia was with Sophie in the bedroom and asked Sophie to help him with something.

‘Sophie asked, “You can’t find the cup, Daddy? Because your eyes are broken?’

It surprised me for a moment, because it was the first time she’d realized I couldn’t see.

Even though his partner, Patricia, always believed in him, he feared his health would prevent him from being the kind of father he wanted to be.

He remembered going to football games with his father, a tradition he sadly wouldn’t share with Sophie.

Chris worried about passing his genetic condition to his children, but was relieved that his daughter didn’t inherit it.

He’s been honest about his worries, and previously shared that he wasn’t sure he was ready to be a father.

He worried a lot about becoming a father. He kept thinking about all the things he wouldn’t be able to do well, especially compared to his own dad, and how he wouldn’t be able to give his child the same experiences. He felt like he’d be a flawed parent, only able to do half the job, and this caused him a great deal of anxiety.

Chris’s wife, Patricia, originally from Brazil, really boosted his confidence. They now live in a newly built, private housing development in Surbiton, southwest London, close to Kingston University, where Chris earned his computer engineering degree.

Chris’s friends share that becoming a father was initially a struggle, but he quickly adapted and found ways to thrive as a blind parent. He explains, ‘My daughter has never known me any other way than as a father who can’t see.’

She figured out she could show my wife what she wanted by pointing, and she would also guide my hand to things to show me. That’s how we started understanding what she needed.

Chris found a creative solution to not being able to see Sophie. As a computer engineer, he explained how he used AI to create a lifelike image of her, which he described as a deeply emotional experience.

He photographs Sophie and then uses technology to analyze the images, identifying details about her, her actions, and her facial expressions.

Chris and Patricia first met in 2005 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Chris was starting out as a comedian.

She worked as a TV producer for Sky, filming a show about the festival. Once the filming wrapped up, she and he immediately hit it off, and they quickly began spending time together in London.

Chris and Patricia’s relationship grew as they bonded over their mutual passion for music. During a Pearl Jam concert in London’s Hyde Park in 2010, Chris secretly decided he would propose to Patricia if the band played their song, “Black.”

They did, and she said yes – right there in the middle of the gig – and the couple married in 2012.  

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2025-10-31 20:20