The toupée's been ditched, the TV show's long gone, but Paul Daniels has still got some tricks up his sleeve. Emma McAlpine chats to the magician and his wife Debbie McGee about modern magic, Wife Swap, their marriage and his upcoming Edinburgh show...
There are a few eye-catching celebrity shows at the Edinburgh Fringe this August. Pete ‘Tourettes’ Bennett from Big Brother; Jackass goon Steve-O; and the fame-hungry Hamiltons; back again with more vacuous interviews and mindless chatter. Then there’s Paul Daniels and the lovely Debbie McGee. Any more stars of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends to come? Surely Jimmy Saville: How’s About That Then? can’t be far off.
Unlike some of the others on this list however, the magician and his wife are not capitalising on their fame to eke out a show. The couple have been entertaining British audiences since the 70s and while it’s true that Daniels hasn’t had his own TV show since 1995, he’s continued to perform on the live entertainment circuit ever since. From children’s parties to working men’s clubs, nightclubs, big theatres, TV studios and Edinburgh; the 73-year-old magician is showing no signs of slowing down. After the Fringe, the pair will continue with a 39 date tour across the UK. Retirement it would seem, is not for Daniels. “The year the manager suggested I retire was the worst year of my life”, he says. “Because he was retiring – he thought I should. He told me to play golf!”
“Paul needs a reason to get up every morning and golf isn’t productive enough. He loves performing and making people happy”, adds McGee.
Of course, the couple haven’t strayed from our television screens completely. They’ve appeared in several reality TV shows from Strictly Come Dancing to Wife Swap with Vanessa Feltz. Daniels was also infamously conned on Chris Morris’ spoof documentary Brasseye, amusingly campaigning to help an elephant with a trunk stuck up its anus. “Wife Swap was the worst”, McGee tells me. “I hated that. They really push you to the end. I only got two hours sleep during the first three days and they made me go on Vanessa’s radio show with no preparation. And on The Farm – they didn’t feed us properly. It was nothing like what we were told.”
So why do they keep doing them?
“It would take a lot for us to do another one now”, admits McGee.
Recently, they previewed their new Edinburgh show at the Southbank Udderbelly festival, where Daniels received several requests and a standing ovation. His fan base it would seem, is still going strong. There are plenty of new gags planned for the Edinburgh show: a mixture of magic and jokes which will also feature McGee. “I’ll be going back to my old assistant’s role”, she explains. We’ll have some fun and giggles and I’ll be butting in and nagging Paul.”
If Daniels is feeling weary at the thought of a month of performances, he’s not showing it today. When he’s not tending to his rabbits, he tells me he plans to see plenty of other comics’ shows while he’s up there. But what does he make of some of the younger magic acts at the Fringe, like Pete Firman and Jerry Sadowitz?
“I think people like Sadowitz, who has been around a long time and was one of the first magicians to be using four letter words, are reducing their marketplace. They will never make the big bucks. Pete Firman might but he is still in the learning process of performance art I think.”
Still passionate about his profession, Daniels has a lot of opinions on the current state of the magic industry: “At least Sadowitz performs magic live and doesn't do what is so prevalent on TV now, which is creating magic in the editing suite. I am an honest Joe. I will baffle you and create a puzzle for you but I won’t cheat you.” He’s also surprisingly clued up about technology and new media, one minute telling me which magician to check out on YouTube, the next delighting in the line that “Facebook is passé.”
"Paul has always been a techno genius. We had an email address before anyone else and no one to send any emails to!" laughs McGee, who occasionally speaks to praise her husband or add detail to a story. This is his show and she’s happy to let him do the talking.
Over the years, there’s been much interest in Daniels’ and McGee’s marriage, not least their 20 year age gap, immortalised in the famous Mrs Merton quip: “So Paul Daniels, what was it that first attracted you to slim, blonde 20-year-old Debbie McGee?” Yet Louis Theroux’s intimate documentary surprised many by showing the couple leading a very happy, normal (ish) life. “For the first 19 years of our lives we were never apart”, says Daniels. “A lot of people said ‘How you can do that?’ and they all got divorced! So I think we got it right.”
“We still do lots together”, agrees McGee. On stage they aim to have as much fun as possible together and not take life too seriously. That, she thinks, is the reason why audiences respond so well to their shows. “So is humour an important part of your marriage?”, I ask.
“Oh yes”, nods Daniels. “Although, I don't like her laughing when I get undressed.”
Boom! Get ready Edinburgh. Paul Daniels is on his way...
Paul Daniels: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow is at Assembly George Square in Edinburgh from Wed 3rd-Sun 28th August, at 5pm.
Photo credit: Alex Brenner
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