Debbie McGee
Encyclopedia
Debbie McGee is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the wife and assistant
of magician Paul Daniels
. McGee is a former ballet dancer and, for three years, she was artistic director of her own ballet company. She currently presents a Sunday morning show for BBC Radio Berkshire
.
, Surrey
, England
, to an English mother, Lillian Howes, and an Irish father, Patrick McGee. Her sister works for a bank and her brother is an accountant. When McGee was young her parents ran a corner shop. Later, her father worked for a large gold manufacturing firm making rings and other jewellery.
McGee enjoyed music and dressing up from an early age, so her mother enrolled her in a dance school when she was seven. At 16 McGee auditioned for and won a place at the Royal Ballet School
. After graduating, she joined the Iran
ian National Ballet 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 Islamic Revolution
. She was forced to flee the country and ended up returning 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.
Delfont found her a job performing on stage with magician Paul Daniels in his 1979 summer show in Great Yarmouth
. She first met Daniels on 23 May 1979 at rehearsals for the show, which were held at a church hall in London.
She later joined Dougie Squires
's Second Generation troupe as a dancer, which involved touring Europe with acts including ABBA
, Chris de Burgh
and James Last
. After winter work in pantomime, McGee joined Daniels again for his 1980 summer season in Bournemouth
. She then went on to perform 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 one of the longest running magic shows ever to play in the West End.
McGee achieved national and international fame through subsequent television appearances with Daniels. After seeing her on stage in the West End, BBC
producer John Fisher asked Debbie to appear in the BBC One
series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which had begun in 1979. That series continued until 1994 and regularly attracted audiences of 15 million in the UK as well as being sold to 43 countries. Daniels regularly referred to McGee on his TV shows as "The lovely Debbie McGee", a phrase that entered popular culture as a stereotype for magicians' assistants
. Daniels and McGee were married in Buckinghamshire
in April 1988.
In recent years, McGee has performed some magic
herself, usually on the corporate cabaret
circuit.
Debbie McGee's pastimes include golf and she has played in celebrity charity events.
and broadcast on television.
. She currently works as a presenter for BBC Radio Berkshire, where, since 8 June 2008, she has hosted a regular Sunday morning show from 9am to 12noon.
. The episode, titled When Louis Met... Paul and Debbie, was broadcast on BBC Two
. It resulted in a boost in the pair's profile and has led to other TV work for the duo.
McGee was a guest on The Mrs Merton Show
when she was famously asked, "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels
?"
In October 2004, McGee and her husband appeared on The Farm
, Five's version of the RTÉ
show Celebrity Farm
. In May 2006, she appeared on The X Factor: Battle of the Stars
with her husband singing Let Me Entertain You
by Robbie Williams
. Debbie and Paul were knocked out in the first round of the talent show.
On 1 April 2007, McGee appeared along with husband Paul, Vanessa Feltz
and her fiancé Ben Ofoedu
in a celebrity edition of Channel 4
's hit reality television
show Wife Swap
. In 2008 McGee was part of Ant's team in the Ant v Dec segment of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
, but was eliminated after the indoor bowls challenge in show 5 (of 6). On the 14 September 2010, McGee appeared on the celebrity version of Come Dine With Me
. She now presents BBC East Midlands Tonight
In addition to her television work, McGee was an extra
in the Oscar-nominated 1981 film The French Lieutenant's Woman
.
In 2006 she and her friend Sue Simons started a modelling and casting agency called Debbie McGee Models. The firm was criticised in several British newspapers for taking fees from prospective models but failing to find them work. Sue Simons later resigned as a director and in December 2007 a one-line statement appeared on the agency's website saying the firm had been taken over. The website closed down soon afterwards. McGee has said she left the business to concentrate on life with her husband.
In February 2009, McGee and Daniels appeared in Closer magazine in a picture recreating an image from an Armani advert that featured footballer David Beckham
and his wife Victoria.
In summer 2009, she appeared in a fringe theatre show in London called Frank's Closet.
Magician's assistant
A magician's assistant is a performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician or principal name in the act. The role of an assistant can include holding the props that are used by a magician, shifting props onto and off the stage, and serving as a living prop in illusions that involve...
of magician Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
. McGee is a former ballet dancer and, for three years, she was artistic director of her own ballet company. She currently presents a Sunday morning show for BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Berkshire, as well as parts of North Hampshire, including Basingstoke. Radio Berkshire broadcasts on 94.6 , 95.4 , 104.1 and 104.4 FM from its studios at Caversham Park near Reading. The 104.1 FM signal is the strongest...
.
Early life and magic career
McGee was born Debra Ann McGee in Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to an English mother, Lillian Howes, and an Irish father, Patrick McGee. Her sister works for a bank and her brother is an accountant. When McGee was young her parents ran a corner shop. Later, her father worked for a large gold manufacturing firm making rings and other jewellery.
McGee enjoyed music and dressing up from an early age, so her mother enrolled her in a dance school when she was seven. At 16 McGee auditioned for and won a place at the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
. After graduating, she joined the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian National Ballet in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. 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 Islamic Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
. She was forced to flee the country and ended up returning to the UK with little in the way of money and possessions. Seeking new work she auditioned for the Bernard Delfont Organisation
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont , born Boris Winogradsky, was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario....
, which was responsible for a number of big summer resort shows and touring productions.
Delfont found her a job performing on stage with magician Paul Daniels in his 1979 summer show in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
. She first met Daniels on 23 May 1979 at rehearsals for the show, which were held at a church hall in London.
She later joined Dougie Squires
Dougie Squires
Dougie Squires is an English choreographer known best for his work in television that dates from the mid-1950s.The groups he has choreographed for television include:*The Dougie Squires Dancers...
's Second Generation troupe as a dancer, which involved touring Europe with acts including ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...
and James Last
James Last
James Last is a German composer and big band leader. His "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom. His composition, "Happy Heart", became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark...
. After winter work in pantomime, McGee joined Daniels again for his 1980 summer season in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. She then went on to perform 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 one of the longest running magic shows ever to play in the West End.
McGee achieved national and international fame through subsequent television appearances with Daniels. After seeing her on stage in the West End, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
producer John Fisher asked Debbie to appear in the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which had begun in 1979. That series continued until 1994 and regularly attracted audiences of 15 million in the UK as well as being sold to 43 countries. Daniels regularly referred to McGee on his TV shows as "The lovely Debbie McGee", a phrase that entered popular culture as a stereotype for magicians' assistants
Magician's assistant
A magician's assistant is a performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician or principal name in the act. The role of an assistant can include holding the props that are used by a magician, shifting props onto and off the stage, and serving as a living prop in illusions that involve...
. Daniels and McGee were married in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
in April 1988.
In recent years, McGee has performed some magic
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
herself, usually on the corporate cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
circuit.
Debbie McGee's pastimes include golf and she has played in celebrity charity events.
Dance company
In 2000, McGee and Daniels set up Ballet Imaginaire to produce ballet shows and tour them around the country. Ticket sales were reportedly poor, despite preparations being recorded by Louis TherouxLouis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
and broadcast on television.
Radio
In 2004 McGee presented Box Jumpers, a two-part radio documentary about magician's assistants for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. She currently works as a presenter for BBC Radio Berkshire, where, since 8 June 2008, she has hosted a regular Sunday morning show from 9am to 12noon.
Television and film
In 2000 McGee and Daniels were the subjects of an episode of a documentary filmed by Louis TherouxLouis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
. The episode, titled When Louis Met... Paul and Debbie, was broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. It resulted in a boost in the pair's profile and has led to other TV work for the duo.
McGee was a guest on The Mrs Merton Show
The Mrs Merton Show
The Mrs Merton Show is a mock talk show starring Caroline Aherne as the elderly host Mrs Merton. It ran from 1994 to 1998, and was produced by Granada Television.The writers included Aherne, Craig Cash, Dave Gorman and Henry Normal....
when she was famously asked, "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
?"
In October 2004, McGee and her husband appeared on The Farm
The Farm (UK TV series)
The Farm is Five's version of the international TV format The Farm, produced by Strix. It had a number of celebrities appearing on it.-Series one:Series one aired in 2004 and was presented and narrated by Ed Hall...
, Five's version of the RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
show Celebrity Farm
Celebrity Farm
Celebrity Farm was a 2003 Radio Telefís Éireann reality television show, based on the international TV format The Farm, produced by Strix. Held along similar lines as I'm a Celebrity.....
. In May 2006, she appeared on The X Factor: Battle of the Stars
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
with her husband singing Let Me Entertain You
Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams song)
"Let Me Entertain You" is a song written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. Released as the fifth and last single from Williams' debut album, Life Thru A Lens. It has no connection to the songs by Queen or Shakespears Sister carrying the same title. In March 1998, the track became a top three hit...
by Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
. Debbie and Paul were knocked out in the first round of the talent show.
On 1 April 2007, McGee appeared along with husband Paul, Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
and her fiancé Ben Ofoedu
Ben Ofoedu
Ben Ofoedu , is a Nigerian/British singer-songwriter, most famous for being the former lead singer of the band Phats and Small.-Music career:...
in a celebrity edition of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's hit reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Wife Swap
Wife Swap
Wife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network...
. In 2008 McGee was part of Ant's team in the Ant v Dec segment of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, is a variety show created by LWT and shown in the UK on Saturday evenings on ITV, presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank...
, but was eliminated after the indoor bowls challenge in show 5 (of 6). On the 14 September 2010, McGee appeared on the celebrity version of Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
. She now presents BBC East Midlands Tonight
In addition to her television work, McGee was an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in the Oscar-nominated 1981 film The French Lieutenant's Woman
The French Lieutenant's Woman (film)
The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1981 film directed by Karel Reisz and adapted by playwright Harold Pinter. It is based on the novel of the same title by John Fowles...
.
Other activities
McGee continues to work alongside husband Paul in venues around the world. Also, according to the biography on her personal website, she has been writing a book for a long time, although the subject matter remains a mystery.In 2006 she and her friend Sue Simons started a modelling and casting agency called Debbie McGee Models. The firm was criticised in several British newspapers for taking fees from prospective models but failing to find them work. Sue Simons later resigned as a director and in December 2007 a one-line statement appeared on the agency's website saying the firm had been taken over. The website closed down soon afterwards. McGee has said she left the business to concentrate on life with her husband.
In February 2009, McGee and Daniels appeared in Closer magazine in a picture recreating an image from an Armani advert that featured footballer David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
and his wife Victoria.
In summer 2009, she appeared in a fringe theatre show in London called Frank's Closet.