Channel 4 viewers have called the format of a game show ‘offensive’ (Picture: Channel 4)
Channel 4 has been criticised for the decision to run a series of visual rounds on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year while Chris McCausland was competing.
The comedian, 47, was one of the guests on this year’s annual special, which was hosted by Jimmy Carr and also featured Richard Ayoade, Katherine Ryan, Rob Beckett, Judi Love and Maisie Adam.
The contestants were tested on their knowledge of the biggest news, sport and pop culture moments of 2024.
However, some viewers couldn’t help but comment after several of the questions involved visual cues, with other contestants then having to explain them to Chris, who is blind.
At one point he was also faced with the Say What You See round, which Jimmy even pointed out posed a problem.
‘We are about to have what I can only describe as a very insensitive round Chris…it’s time for Say What You See,’ he revealed.
Chris McCausland competed on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year alongside Maisie Adam (Picture: Channel 4)
Jumping in, Rob quipped: ‘Just write nothing and you’ll get points.’
Richard also sarcastically said he ‘loved how flexible the format of the show is’.
Poking fun at what was ahead though, Chris said he ‘had more chance at this than Judi has’, due to her poor performance at the start of the quiz.
Despite the extra obstacle to answer the question, Chris was the first to guess the picture round correctly, with his success met with a round of applause and cheers from the audience.
‘Just so we are clear. You were all beaten by a blind man in this round,’ Jimmy said, with Chris adding it was ‘shocking’.
Although he didn’t seem to mind about the image-based rounds, those watching on at home questioned why the episode hadn’t been made more accessible.
The comedian, who is blind, was faced with several picture and video rounds (Picture: Channel 4)
‘Anyone else watching #bigfatquiz and wondering why it’s so inaccessible for Chris? They could’ve made very minor changes to the format (like less picture questions) and it wouldn’t even be noticeable,’ Fran posted on X.
‘Quite uncomfortable with how little #BigFatQuiz has been adapted for Chris,’ Sylvia shared.
‘[This seems] to be a total lack of making this accessible for Chris. Why invite a disabled panellist if you’re not going to make any necessary adaptions to the format?’ Caz added.
Another added: ‘What’s the point in booking him if he can’t take part?’
However, as others pointed out, it’s very likely he’d have run through the format of the show before taking part.
The Big Fat Quiz was eventually won by Rob and Judie with a score of 45, followed by Richard and Katherine with 41 and Masie and Chris with 40.
Despite his own initial trepidation to sign up to Strictly Come Dancing, earlier this month Chris was named the winner of this season alongside dance partner Dianne Buswell.
Earlier this month Chris won Strictly Come Dancing with Dianne Buswell (Picture: Guy Levy/ BBC/ PA Wire)
Although he believed it might have been a ‘box ticking exercise’ and he could have been the ‘sacrificial lamb’ his dance skills were praised by both the judges and the public.
‘I wanted to be able to represent not just people who are blind but people with a disability in a positive way that was “look what is possible” rather than what is not, and we’ve done that more than I had hoped we could have,’ he said when speaking to Metro before their win.
‘A lot of the feedback we get is from people who don’t have a disability who have latched on to that message in a way that applies to them and their lives and doing something that scares you, putting yourself outside your comfort zone and challenging yourself and not dwelling on the negatives. It’s lovely we’ve been able to connect with so many people.’
He also recently told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme he believed there was ‘low expectations of people with disabilities’ and he wanted to ‘stretch people’s ideas of what is possible for a person with disabilities’.
Metro has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is streaming on Channel 4.
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