Stephen Mulhern pays heartbreaking tribute to late dad after Royal Variety Performance act
STEPHEN Mulhern paid a heartbreaking tribute to his late dad after his Royal Variety Performance act.
The Deal Or No Deal presenter took to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall to perform a magic act in front of His Majesty, The King.
Before he became a presenter on ITV, Stephen, 47, became the youngest member of the Magic Circle.
When he was just a child, he even appeared on a segment of Blue Peter which focussed on the legendary magician, Harry Houdini.
Recently the presenter pulled out of hosting the upcoming Big Soap Quiz following the death of his beloved father.
He was replaced by former soap star Sally Lindsay, 51, as he mourned the passing of his late dad, Christopher.
This also came after he collapsed when he suffered a bad reaction to an anaesthetic at a Pizza Express meal following an earlier operation.
After successfully performing his magic act at the Royal Variety performance, he couldn’t help but pay tribute to his parent.
As the audience gave they rapturous applause to the star, he took a bow in appreciation.
He then explained: “That was for you dad.”
It was sure to be an emotional night as Stephen first learned the art of comedy and magic from his father when he was just 11-years-old.
During the show, the In For A Penny star made Amanda Holden, 53, disappear after raising her high above the circular shaped stage.
He also showed off his signature family trick where he restored a torn-up newspaper.
Earlier in the act, he gave a special buzzer to a member of the audience to press at a specific time.
He spoke about how his grandfather passed away a number of weeks ago, only for the handheld machine to seemingly go off early.
Confetti banners streamed and inappropriate music blasted out as the audience were in hysterics as the TV personality feigned anger.
Stephen Mulhurn’s career so far
The presenter is a mainstay on various ITV shows, but how did he become one of Britain’s most well-known faces?
Stephen first gained an interest in magic and tricks from his father who taught him as a kid.
After performing at Butlins, he became the youngest member of the Magic Circle and even made an appearance on Blue Peter in a piece about Harry Houdini.
His career started in Children’s TV when he presenter the show Finger Tips in 2001.
After four years, he launched Tricky TV on CITV in 2005, which he presented until 2010.
During this time, he was handpicked by bosses to front the ITV2 spin-off for Britain’s Got Talent.
He presented Britain’s Got More Talent until the cancelation of the companion in 2019.
But it’s not all bad news for Stephen who is known for his duties on a number of quiz shows.
In for a Penny, a format originally launched on Ant & Dec‘s Saturday Night Takeaway was launched the same year.
Before, he was chosen by bosses to host Catchphrase in 2013 and has been fronting the show ever since.
Other huge shows he presented for ITV included Big Star’s Little Star, Rolling In It and the reboot of Deal Or No Deal.
He also made regular appearances on This Morning in ‘The Hub’ segment between 2011 and 2014.
After the Philip Schofield scandal rocked ITV, he was chosen to reunite with his former CITV co-star Holly Willoughby as the host of Dancing on Ice.