Comment

Paul Daniels talks to Sally Churchward about magic, marriage, and the comeback of a children's TV favourite

Tell me a bit about your show, the Very Best of British Variety...
"What happens is, the promoter has a mental breakdown and decides to put together acts as they did in the old days!

"I came into showbusiness a bit too late. I missed all this jollying around with about half a dozen acts on the bill. Most of the time I've been on my own. You meet up with other acts in hotels or at charity bashes and things like that, but when you're performing you actually don't work with other acts anymore. This is going to be great - not just for us but for audiences. They won't believe how much entertainment is coming over the footlights."

Are you excited about it?

"Yeah! I met up with the other acts twice over the last couple of months and all we've done is fall about laughing. I've come to the conclusion we're not really doing it for the public, we're doing it for us. We just have such a good time."

Will Debbie join you on the road for this tour?

"Sometimes, but Debbie is a presenter at Radio Berkshire - you can listen to her every Sunday morning on your computer. So sometimes she'll be there, sometimes she won't."

What's your and Debbie's secret to having a happy marriage?

"Separate bathrooms - you don't see any mucky bits! We look after each other and just have fun. We laugh all the time. The other morning, I noticed there was a can of spray tan and I'd seen on the TV a guy saying that in Hollywood they spray tan their stomachs to make it look like they've got a six pack. Well that's too good a gag to miss so I grabbed a can and sprayed myself. I think I've overdone it because now I've got a big brown belly, but she howled. That's what we do: we do gags all the time. We like each other, we're good mates and we involve each other in everything."

When you see other magicians doing tricks can you always figure out how they've done them?

"I can work them out but that's not conceited - that's reading magic for 50 years. Sometimes they catch me out and my head works backwards and I go oh yeah, there we are!'. I'm interested in it as a theatre art form. I once did an interview on German TV where they treat magic, as they should, on equal lines with opera or ballets or drama: it's a theatrical experience."

There are a lot of magicians around. What enabled you to hit the limelight and stay there?

"I didn't take myself too seriously. I still don't, despite me telling the world I am a sex symbol and body builder. I just think life is fun and what I do for a living is fun. A lot of magicians, certainly those who go the dramatic route, should take acting lessons because it doesn't seem real. What I try to do is make it a real, interactive experience."

What do you find more difficult to pull off, the close-up magic or the larger scale illusions?

"The larger scale illusions are harder to present because they involve the audience viewing your whole body. Close-up, which might be more skilful digitally, all the audience is looking at is your hands."

If you're out and people ask you to show them a trick, do want to be off duty' or is it fun?

"I enjoy it. A couple of nights ago I was at a dinner table and I think I was the only one there that wasn't a billionaire, and I was doing card tricks."

What is it about magic that appeals to people so much?

"The enjoyment. I've seen some boring people out there but then I've seen boring singers as well, and comedians. I just think it's because, when you think about it, what is magic? It's a defiance of all those physical laws that bind us and stop us doing stuff and here's somebody comes along who apparently can defy all those laws."

What made you decide to branch out into children's television in the 80s, with Wizbit, which you created and co-starred in?

"It's coming back; I bought all the rights to it last year. For years I've had dozens of emails coming in week after week asking about Wizbit. I don't see children as anything different to adults, only littler - or in my case, the same size."

12:04pm Friday 29th August 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login