Paul's appearing as if by magic!

For Paul (63) will be visiting St. Helens with 'An Audience with Paul Daniels' as part of his whistle-stop 40 date plus tour of Great Britain.

The show gives the audience the opportunity to ask Paul those questions which they have always wanted to ask and the chance to see Paul's comedy cabaret act in the second half

Yorkshire-born Paul said: "This is a great tour. Normally I am with large illusionists shows which take the whole day to set up and dismantle and I never get to see the town where I am appearing. However, with this show I am looking forward to having the time to look round St. Helens.

"It is a very relaxed show and I love the feedback from the audience. I started this kind of show when I was working on cruise ships on wet afternoons. When the passengers were bored, I would start ad libbing and found that people loved it.

"Every night is different because the audience changes although I do get asked the stock questions... such as what was my first trick... which I not only tell them about but also perform. However, I try to blank out everything that has been asked before because that makes every show fresh."

Paul's love of magic goes back many years although he worked as a junior clerk, internal auditor, grocer and even did his National Service before embarking on a showbiz summer tour at the age of 30, a decision which was to alter his life for ever.

His first major television appearance was on 'Opportunity Knocks' where he came second. But his big breakthrough came on the 'Wheeltappers and Shunters Club'. Since then, Paul has clocked up more than 600 shows.

So why does he think that magic still continues to appeal to the public.... "That's easy" he replies, "It's because we are limited by nature and its structure so it is great to see someone bending the rules and doing the impossible. It is pure escapism. Although I enjoy television, I much prefer live shows because of the atmosphere.

"I also love creating new tricks and think that the best source of inspiration is reading. After 50 years of researching magic, I find that the ideas just come and then I fine-tune them. Reading is a great way to learn because it allows your imagination to fill in the gaps and create something totally new.

"For anyone starting out in this business I would say, create your own style, which is what I have done and above all don't copy anyone else".

While Paul is on tour, his wife Debbie McGee is lauching her new ballet 'Phantom' which will shortly be touring the country.

Paul said: "I admire Debbie more than anyone because she is so talented... a great cook, organiser, dancer and choreographer... she works like no one else I know."

And what of future ambitions? Paul jokes: "Despite reading somewhere last week that I had retired, I must have been too busy to notice, I have many ambitions. The main of these is to appear in a film or musical so let's hope that's on the cards in the future."