The Magician's Assistant

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In December 2019, McGee appeared in the quiz show Tenable All Stars for a Christmas special. [27] Other activities [ edit ] Brennan, Andrew. "The Magic Circle Maskelyne Award". Themagiccircle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021 . Retrieved 19 December 2017. Delfont found her a job performing on stage with magician Paul Daniels in his 1979 summer show at the Britannia Pier Theatre in Great Yarmouth. She met Daniels on 23 May 1979 at rehearsals for the show, which were held at a church hall in London. [4] [7] [8] Marriages England and Wales 1984–2005". Findmypast.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009 . Retrieved 18 February 2012.

She later joined Dougie Squires's Second Generation troupe as a dancer, which involved touring Europe with acts including Chris de Burgh and James Last. After winter work in pantomime, McGee joined Daniels again for his 1980 summer season in Bournemouth. She then performed in his London stage show It's Magic, which opened on 10 December 1980 and which, by the time it closed 14 months later, had become the longest running magic show ever to play in the West End. [5] [ unreliable source?] McGee attended Our Lady Immaculate RC Primary School in Tolworth, followed by Tolworth Girls' School, a secondary school also in Tolworth. At the age of 16 McGee auditioned for and won a place at the Royal Ballet School. After graduating, she joined the Iranian National Ballet Company in Tehran. Aged 19, she became part of the Corps de Ballet and later a soloist, but her ballet career was brought to an abrupt halt by the Iranian Revolution. She was forced to flee the country and returned to the UK with little in the way of money and possessions. Seeking new work she auditioned for the Bernard Delfont Organisation, which was responsible for a number of big summer resort shows and touring productions. [5] [6] [7] In 2017, McGee appeared alongside Nigel Havers, Simon Callow and Lorraine Chase in Barging Loving Celebs. Smiles, Mieka (13 October 2014). " 'I wasn't a millionaire when I married Debbie McGee', says Paul Daniels as he debunks famous Mrs Merton one-liner". Teesside Gazette. McGee was the 2017 winner of the Magic Circle's Maskelyne award "for services to British Magic", the same award that her husband received in 1988. [15]How female magicians broke through the Magic Circle's boys' club". Newsweek.com. 29 September 2016 . Retrieved 16 December 2017. From 9 December 2016 to 1 January 2017, McGee starred in the pantomime Aladdin as Slave of the Ring at the Grand Opera House, York. [34] Sometimes she needs the audience to notice her actions and at other times she absolutely needs them to ignore her. The latter can be achieved through non-verbal signals such as subtle changes in body language, posture and gaze.

A comedy magic show might not seem like the perfect place to challenge the lazy sexism of traditional performative presentations of gender onstage, but in my experience a female assistant can send up and subvert the stereotypes by encouraging the audience to laugh at them. Who is Debbie McGee? Celebrity MasterChef contestant profile". Radiotimes.com . Retrieved 23 September 2017. Later in the summer of that year, she appeared in a fringe theatre show in London called Frank's Closet. [32] When I first started working as a magician’s assistant in a late-night cabaret show in a small central-London theatre, I couldn’t have anticipated just how much it would change my performing life. Stage magic and illusion had not, unsurprisingly, been part of my training at university and drama school, but they opened up a whole new world of stagecraft, audience interaction, pacing and physicality that helped me unlearn and relearn ways to be and communicate on stage, as well as to direct and focus the attention of audiences. Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her own ballet company. She presents a Sunday morning show for BBC Radio Berkshire. McGee was a finalist in BBC's 2017 Strictly Come Dancing and a winner of the 2019 Christmas Special, and as of January 2018 is a recurring member of the Loose Women panel. [1] Early life and magic career [ edit ]a b c Tyrrel, Rebecca (August 2000). "Deb's delight". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007 . Retrieved 18 November 2007. Stanbridge, Nicola (7 October 2016). "Is magic's glass ceiling vanishing?". Bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 16 December 2017. a b c d Lane, Harriet (2 July 2000). "Spellbound". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 4 December 2013. Hogan, Michael (16 December 2017). "Strictly Come Dancing 2017 live final: Joe McFadden lifts glitterball trophy despite being outscored by Alexandra Burke". Telegraph.co.uk . Retrieved 19 December 2017. Edwards, Chris (26 January 2019). " Strictly Come Dancing star Debbie McGee reveals terrifying breast cancer diagnosis: "It scared me to death" ". Digital Spy . Retrieved 31 August 2022.