In the Presence of Magic.


Today's been overshadowed by the sad news of Paul Daniels' passing.

I was on my way to meet Glyn for breakfast when he text me to tell me the news. When I joined him we had long chat about the night Paul played Mostly Comedy last November; reminiscing about how excited we were to have him on the bill, and how bowled over we were by his and Debbie’s easygoing nature that night.

Meeting your heroes can be a risky business; they have so much to live up to and so far to fall. We needn’t have worried in this instance. We were concerned the backstage facilities we could offer were lacking (our then-venue, the Market Theatre, has no dressing rooms), but they didn’t mind at all; we mucked in together, with Glyn happily chatting away with Debbie and the other act on the bill that night, Bec Hill, in the tiny auditorium that adjoins the venue, while Paul prepped his props on stage.

We received a call from the Hertfordshire Mercury and BBC Three Counties today, who’d picked up on Paul Daniels’ recent Mostly Comedy appearance. It was great to be able to pass on how lovely and ‘on form’ they were that night, and how much the audience loved it. He was razor sharp and on top of his game, which was a joy to see.

Paul Daniels was my childhood hero, and the reason I became a performer. He lit the fuse. I’m glad I got to tell him and spend an evening in his company. That night was precious and I’ll never forget it. Thank you, Debbie, Thank you Paul. God bless.

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