Strictly star Debbie McGee is selling off her late husband Paul Daniels’ archive of magic tricks and props for £200k
MAGICIAN Paul Daniels’ widow Debbie McGee is selling his archive of tricks and props for £200,000.
Debbie, 63, reckons the time is right to pass on the collection to a new generation of conjurors.
It includes tricks he performed on his hit BBC 1 show, a huge collection of magic posters, playing cards, wands and his magic top hat.
Debbie said: “It seems unfair of me to hold on to these things.
“It’s great for younger magicians being able to get hold of this knowledge.
“Paul would have loved the fact other people will own something of his.”
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The collection includes Debbie’s favourite trick — the Geometrix illusion.
It involved her being locked inside a 6ft box while Paul — whose catchphrase was “You’ll like this, not a lot, but you’ll like it” — skewered it with swords and 3D shapes. It is expected to fetch £12,000.
Another illusion, a levitation trick called Phantom, was the magician’s favourite and was based on The Phantom of the Opera. It is expected to sell for around £30,000.
The collection also includes vintage posters related to other magicians from the late 1800s to the modern era. They could fetch £60,000.
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Debbie met Paul in 1979 when she got a job performing in his summer show in Great Yarmouth.
She became his regular assistant, appearing alongside him on his TV show, which ran from 1979 to 1994.
They married in 1988.
Paul died in 2016, aged 77, after being diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.
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His magic collection has been stored at the couple’s home in Berkshire since then.
It will be sold by Special Auction Services in Newbury, Berks, on November 23 and 24.