Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.
Daniels was known for his catchphrase "You'll like this... not a lot, but you'll like it!", and for his marriage to his assistant, Debbie McGee. He was awarded the "Magician of the Year" Award by the Academy of Magical Arts in 1982, the first magician from outside the United States to receive it. He also won the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1985. He was a Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star. He has been described as "The Godfather of Magic" and has been repeatedly credited with inspiring many top magicians to start in the profession.
Daniels was outspoken on matters including politics, current affairs, magic, entertainment, and fellow celebrities. Towards the end of his life he also appeared in reality television shows.
Daniels was born on 6 April 1938 in the South Bank area of Middlesbrough, the son of Handel Newton "Hughie" Daniels and Nancy (née Lloyd). He was of Welsh descent. His father was a cinema projectionist at the Hippodrome Theatre and a worker for ICI in Wilton, North Riding of Yorkshire. After completing his education at Sir William Turner's Grammar School on Coatham Road in Coatham, North Riding of Yorkshire and holding his first job as a junior clerk in the treasurer's office of Eston Council, Daniels served as a conscript in the 1st Battalion, Green Howards, during his national service. He was posted to the British garrison in Hong Kong before training as an accountant in local government.
Even in his early age, Daniels had thinning hair, which he claimed to be an act of "magic". He later sported a wig for much of his television career. After working as a junior clerk and then as an auditor in local government, he joined his parents in their grocery business. He later set up his own shop, at one point a mobile shop, but eventually gave this up in favour of his growing career as a magician.
In 2012, Daniels explained the origin of his stage name to The Guardian, saying: "I borrowed the name Paul from my first son, who was born in 1960. I was born Newton Edward Daniels, everyone called me Ted, but Paul worked better for showbusiness".
Daniels' interest in magic began at the age of 11 when, during a holiday, he read a book called How to Entertain at Parties. He began performing magic as a hobby, occasionally entertaining at parties and youth clubs and later doing shows for fellow servicemen during his national service. After returning to civilian life he continued to develop his magic by performing in clubs in the evenings while working at his grocery business during the day. Paul was a member of the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians where he developed an act. with his first wife Jackie. under the name of "The Eldani's", an anagram of Daniels. It was while working the clubs that he developed what would become his long-running catchphrase, "You'll like this ... not a lot, but you'll like it." He stated that he first came up with the line at a club in Bradford as a way to deal with a heckler.
A major turning point in Daniels' career came in 1969 when he was offered a summer season in Newquay in Cornwall. He decided to sell his grocery business and try magic as a full-time career. He made his television debut on the long-running talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1970, and came second. Television producer Johnnie Hamp saw Daniels in that show and later gave him a regular spot on a show compèred by Bernard Manning, The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, for Granada Television.
In 1978, ITV gave Daniels his own Sunday night show, Paul Daniels' Blackpool Bonanza. His first series for the BBC was For My Next Trick, where Daniels appeared with several other magicians and singer Faith Brown. This led to Daniels presenting his own television series, The Paul Daniels Magic Show, on BBC1 from 1979 until 1994. As well as featuring tricks and illusions for pure entertainment, he also included a regular segment (the "Bunco Booth") in which he exposed the confidence tricks of street charlatans. He also replicated the kind of results that have impressed researchers of the paranormal and parapsychologists in a segment called Under Laboratory Conditions, thereby demonstrating his scepticism about claims made in these fields.
Daniels starred in his own stage show, It's Magic, at the Prince of Wales Theatre from 10 December 1980 until 6 February 1982. At that time, the show was one of the longest-running magic shows ever staged in London. By this point he was already working with his future wife, Debbie McGee, whose role as his assistant would become a major feature of his act. She had first worked with him on his summer season show in Great Yarmouth in 1979.
In addition to his magic shows he hosted other television series during the 1980s and 1990s, including three BBC1 quiz shows: Odd One Out, Every Second Counts and Wipeout (all of which were based on short-lived American game shows), and the children's television programme Wizbit (also for the BBC), about a magician called Wizbit and a rabbit called Woolly, who lived in Puzzleopolis. In 1987, he was a timekeeper in the charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament.
Also in 1987, Daniels hosted a controversial Halloween live special of his magic show where he replicated a Harry Houdini escape from an iron maiden. The trick was deliberately staged to give the illusion that the escape had gone tragically wrong and Daniels had been killed – it was later broadcast that he had successfully escaped from the device.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1988 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel.
Daniels and McGee were the focus of one of the episodes of the 2001 BBC documentary series When Louis Met..., presented by Louis Theroux, with Daniels additionally appearing on Da Ali G Show in an Ali G costume, and was interviewed by Caroline Aherne in her guise as Mrs Merton. In 2004, Daniels and McGee appeared in the Channel 5 reality TV show, The Farm, and in 2006, they appeared in the ITV show The X Factor: Battle of the Stars. They were the first act voted off the show, after singing "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams. Daniels and McGee also made a guest appearance in the Wife Swap series in early 2007, with McGee changing places with journalist and presenter Vanessa Feltz.
In 2007 Daniels announced they were working on a return of the once successful tv show Wizbit, they started with a small release of a book series to drum up interest ahead of a Television pilot, with episodes produced by HandE Productions. This was with a brand new cast and had bigger plans to be made into a movie in 2010. However during the recession, this revival was cancelled.
In 2010, he competed in Strictly Come Dancing with his partner Ola Jordan. They were consistently criticised by the judges and were the second couple to leave the competition.
In August 2011, while filming a scene for ITV's Sooty, Daniels was struck by a flying pizza, thrown by the puppet Sooty. He got a piece of pizza in his eye and called in to a cottage hospital for them to rinse it out. Later that month he appeared with his son, Martin, on episode 9 of the first season of Penn & Teller: Fool Us.
On 10 October 2012, Daniels and McGee appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs on ITV.