Number Plate Stories

Now that's MAG 1C!

Paul Daniels interview

By Ruby Speechley

It is people’s reactions to seeing this MAG 1C number that concerns Paul sometimes, “It can be damn dangerous. I think that when I drive the Bentley I am more aware of other drivers and what they are up to than anyone else on the road. Normal family drivers will suddenly spot the plate and swerve out into the fast lane so that they can turn sideways to take pictures with their phones and cameras. Mad!”

At this point the lovely Debbie McGee, looking ageless as ever, comes to ask us if we would like a drink. Moments later she returns with a tray of tea and coffee before returning to her office.

Paul first became interested in magic when he was just 11 years old whilst on holiday with friends. He read a book called ‘How to entertain at parties’ and was particularly taken with the magic card tricks it explained. “From that moment, I can safely say that all I ever wanted to do in life was to become a professional magician.” Soon, the young Paul was entertaining at the homes of friends and family, then at parties and youth clubs. He left school at 16 and went straight into the Civil Service as a junior clerk and later as an internal auditor. He continued the magic shows in his spare time when he also began to develop his own tricks and techniques.

At 18, he was called for National Service and was sent to Hong Kong on active duty where he spent part of his time entertaining the British and American servicemen.

After demobilisation, Paul decided to leave his secure Civil Service post to manage his parents grocery business. “It was so successful that I was soon able to buy my own shop. But it meant that I was working harder than ever. In the evenings I was entertaining with my magic act in working men’s clubs. I had a gruelling schedule of up to three 45-minute slots every night.”

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