When Louis Met Paul and Debbie (2001) Movie Script
To the three of us.
To the three of us. Menage a trois!
In a village in Oxfordshire, on the
banks of the Thames, lives Britain's
most famous magician - Paul Daniels,
with his wife and former assistant,
Debbie McGee.
Now in their 60s and 40s
respectively, the couple are
entering a new phase in their lives.
They allowed me to spend some time
getting to know them.
I don't want you to film
at this door.
Come to the other door, cos this is
the bit we haven't finished, so...
OK. Sorry about that. All right.
Hello, there! Come in, Louis.
Shall I take my shoes off? Um...yes,
please. Why not? We've got ours off.
How are you doing? Not bad.
He's just on the phone.
He'll be with you in a second.
I'm in bare feet.
Look how small I am!
I haven't got high shoes on today.
This becomes the lounge. Very nice.
This is amazing, the way this is
recessed. Yeah. Debbie got a shock.
She went out. When she came back, no
chimney. I had to get my whip out!
I dunno... It works! Crikey! What
is that? It's a standard lamp, son.
These books look like
they might be quite valuable. Um...
Robert Houdin. The father of modern
magic - Jean Eugene Robert Houdin.
Lived in the last century... Nice.
Yes, the drawing. Is it in all your
books? Mm. It's called a book plate.
What about up here, Paul and Debbie?
Well, no. All the bedrooms are
currently being done. Oh, they are.
Very good try! We've allowed you in,
but we said until we'd finished the
house we weren't thinking of doing
anything. We want it to be finished.
I would like to see YOUR bedroom.
Is that done? Nope. No. No?
We just told you it wasn't! Please
pay attention! Cheeky little monkey!
Wants us to take him up there,
but I'm not.
'With the bedroom off limits, it was
time to get down to business, and
the biggest reason why I was here.
'With Paul now retired
from the world of magic,
'Debbie was about to fulfil a dream,
setting up her own company -
Ballet Imaginaire - funded by Paul.'
Here on the poster
it says, "Debbie McGee
for PDM International Presents..."
So it doesn't actually say
Paul Daniels anywhere on the poster.
No. I'm just paying for it.
Can I ask how much? We'll be
looking at about 300 grand, I think.
We can't make a profit on the first
run. It's impossible. So you're not
doing this for financial reasons?
Not yet.
What ARE you doing it for, then?
I'm doing it because Debbie wanted
to do it. I think she's good at it.
The original impetus was yours,
Debbie? Yep. With Paul's backing.
It was something he knew I wanted
to do, and he said go ahead.
You were with the Iranian National
Ballet? Yes, I was. So did you dance
for the Shah of Iran? I did, yes.
It was amazing.
Was he nice? Lovely. And his wife.
I was there when the revolution
broke out and that's how I met Paul,
how I auditioned for his show.
I came home and all the English
ballet companies were full,
and I needed a job.
You knew you'd be a magician's
assistant? Well, no. I auditioned
for Paul's show as a dancer.
So for a good few years, while
you were working in the magic,
at the back of your mind there's
been this idea of going back
to ballet? Yeah, absolutely.
It was always my first love. It must
be weird for you, Paul, to get used
to being, in effect, the assistant -
now Debbie's the magician! It's
wonderful. I've no problems with it.
This is all your stuff. We should be
looking at this. If you want to,
Mr Cameraman. Rehearsal schedule.
I don't like showing people
my untidy areas, but here we are.
These are all my files.
Is this your bag? Yes. You don't
want to see my underwear, do you?!
Sorry, Paul. My lacy knickers!
You can if you want.
I'm sure you've seen it all before.
Are there tricks in the ballet?
It's got magical bits. Not tricks.
Paul just said there WERE tricks.
Magical happenings. Yes,
special effects. Magical happenings?
It's like Paul did... OK, you both
want to say magical happenings!
Paul did special effects
for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom...
Phantom Of The Opera? Yeah. People
didn't watch it... I've not seen it.
You don't think, "Oh, that's a magic
trick." It's a magical happening!
Come on then, duckies!
'At the end of our first day
together, I had a chance to reflect.
'I felt Debbie and I were getting on
pretty well. With Paul, I thought,
maybe there was more work to do.'
You're all perky this morning?
Oh, yes. Good morning, everybody.
..Would you like some orange juice?
Yes, please. I'd love a coffee.
Can I give you a hand, Debbie?
No, you're all right.
You sure? Nearly there. Coffee's on,
Louis. It'll wake you up
in a minute. Breakfast is coming.
What do you prefer?
Oh!
I've got Frosties, Country Crisps,
Cornflakes, Weetabix and Shreddies.
Could I...could I get some
Weetabix and Cornflakes, please?
Yep. Together.
With the premiere
of Ballet Imaginaire looming,
Paul and Debbie were moving
up to Lincoln for final rehearsals.
He and I went on ahead in his van.
We stopped for the Sunday Telegraph,
which had a feature about Debbie.
Shall I read it out? If you like.
Can you read while we drive? Yeah.
"Debbie McGee is pleasant,
thoughtful, hospitable, forthcoming.
"Considering what has been written
about her being a gold-digger,
"and she was the subject of sexually
depraved photographs..." What?!
"..computer-generated..." Oh, yeah.
Somebody on the Internet has...
mocked up some pictures, apparently,
and everybody writes to me -
I get a lot of e-mail about it.
I say, "Please,
if you know the site, tell me."
Because apparently
they're really bad.
Hi. Louis. How do you do? Not bad.
'Our next stop was at Paul's younger
brother Trevor's house, for a prop
he'd made for a magical happening.'
If you take that to a bank,
they'll laugh at you!
Take it to a chemist, they'll make
it up. "Take three times a day...!"
I've seen the show. Yeah. That's
for your...all the stuff you spent.
When we reached Lincoln,
Paul and Debbie got down to work.
Debbie was rehearsing with the cast.
Artistic director and choreographer,
she was clearly in her element.
It's gotta have pzazz.
What is your function here today?
I keep a general, overall eye open.
I've always had an eye for detail.
What's the delay now?
Waiting for lighting, that's all.
I can't do a lot more...
The next day, rehearsals continued,
and so Paul took me to Doncaster,
to a warehouse where he keeps props.
Maybe we could do some tricks there.
You forgot to bring Debbie. Meaning?
I'll be Debbie! She's got to get in.
# I'll be your Debbie tonight! #
What about this?
What've you got? What've you got?
Oh, I remember them. Yes.
They were a good act.
There you are.
Oh, it's quite clean inside.
You see, if you stand there...
Quite a tight squeeze, isn't it?
Is that safe? It's all safe, yes.
You see, you're far too big for it.
Do you see what I mean?
Close the door.
Right, I think
it's coffee-break time, don't you?
Everybody say yes to a coffee?
The team... How long would you have
to stay in here for a magic trick?
Paul?
PAUL STAYS SILEN It's quite nice in here.
Hmm.
Well, I'm glad about that.
I'll tell you why.
All the boxes I make...
Please close it. Please close it!
Shouldn't I be elsewhere?
No, you're supposed to be there.
Debbie has probably spent hours
in there. Well... And you wonder
why she wants to do ballet!
This is like a life's work in here,
isn't it? A major part of my life,
yeah, is all stuffed in here.
But it's time for a new life.
When you stopped working with
the BBC, how did that come about?
Er...
They had a change of policy. I don't
think it was anything personal.
They just, um...decided...
not to do
a light entertainment show.
Did you feel at all hard done by?
How did they break it to you that
your services weren't required?
Well, they didn't break it to me.
I found out from a dress designer
at a party.
Did you feel ill-used?
I don't think I felt ill-used. I
felt that they were extremely rude.
'I couldn't be sure,
but it was possible that
Paul and I were starting to bond.
'In Lincoln, the world premiere of
Ballet Imaginaire was drawing close.
'It seemed to be coming together.
'But I wondered what Debbie felt
about Paul's involvement.'
Do you worry that Paul might feel
left out? I did worry at first
that he would. But he doesn't.
He is a part of it
because of me anyway,
and he's done a lot of work for it.
This morning, he's off collecting
the photographs and things.
He's going to make a display
for the foyer.
But when you think about it,
it's quite a comedown from being
the nation's favourite magician.
Pinning up photographs. But he wants
to do it. He's helping me. And...
Paul's like that. You know, he's
been famous for such a long time,
Louis, it's nice to have a break.
PHONE RINGS
And for you to get the limelight.
'To publicise the ballet,
Debbie was doing phone interviews.'
Thank you. ..Yep, absolutely.
A childhood dream come true.
It sounds very sugary, doesn't it?
But, yeah, ballet was my first love.
I put that on the shelf for 20 years
to work in television as a "box
jumper", as they call assistants!
..Yeah. Box jumpers -
jumping in and out of illusions.
..What we've always thought
when we read those articles is,
"What do they know?
Aren't we lucky that we're happy?"
When they wrote I was a bimbo...
It never hurt me, cos they don't
know what qualifications I've got.
Thanks, Peter. Bye-bye.
That was more in-depth
than I thought it would be. I know.
He'd done his homework. He had.
What was the question about a bimbo?
Oh, about getting hurt
about what the papers write?
When Paul and I got married, they
all wrote that it would never last,
and that I was a magician's
assistant with no brains.
I don't consider myself a bimbo, but
I like wearing glamorous clothes.
If I really was a bimbo, um...
So what, anyway? You know?
Come on! We have to walk faster!
Why fast? Cos I don't walk slowly.
And I'm almost late.
No, I'm on time. It's not far.
How are you doing? How do you do?
Roger, isn't it?
They're going to transform me now.
So, um...you have to go, so that...
What about if we just wait here?
No, you can't, Louis. Can't we watch
from here? Go on. No, no, look.
We'll dye your hair blond! It might
be a harassment to other customers.
There aren't any! Where are they?
Yes, this lady. She's looking
harassed. You're all right,
aren't you? You don't mind us?
She doesn't want her friends to see
her under the hairdryer. Nor do I.
I'll be finished at about 12.30,
won't I? I think so. Two hours?!
Yeah. It's a long job.
All right? OK?
See you later. Bye. Bye.
With two hours to kill,
I went for a cup of tea
and spotted Paul in the high street.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
Debs, there's a film crew
up the high street,
for some reason taking pictures
of a cafe. Where are you?
Paul! Hello? Where are you?
Hello?
Welcome to Lincoln,
the twilight zone. Phones do not
work! Paul... Oh, there you are!
Here's Debbie again.
Hello? She's getting her hair done.
I'm in the hairdresser's.
She's in the hairdresser's.
..I'm gonna buy shoes.
How are you, Debbie? You've got
Louis with you, have you? Yes!
Life is not perfect. You don't
mean it, but it's still hurtful.
Are you going shopping? I'm going
to buy shoes cos I forgot 'em. Bye.
See you later, Debbie... Oh. You
don't hang around, do you? No, no!
She's seen us.
Can we come in? Of course.
You take a lot of pride in your
appearance and it shows. Thank you.
D'you think Paul takes a lot of care
of his appearance? He's very clean.
Hygiene? Yeah.
What about clothes? He's more
interested in other things.
He's got quite funny fashion sense.
He likes colourful things. He does.
He's not, sort of, dowdy,
but he's not interested
in men's fashion at all.
That Telegraph article
said that you convinced him
to abandon the wig. Is that true?
I thought he looked better
without it. Did you? Yeah.
Would he wear it in bed? Oh, no.
Maybe he did before he met me.
You'll have to ask him that one.
That's a good one, isn't it, Louis?
That's made us all laugh.
So, he'd be like, "Good night,
Debbie. Let's brush our teeth and
I'll take my wig off and then..."
It'd be quite funny. D'you know
what we use his old wigs for now?
Cleaning the car.
No. Keeping the teapot warm.
No! Not really! That's a Debbie
joke. Is that a Debbie joke? Yeah.
This is Louis Theroux. You're Chris
and you own the theatre. 'Fraid so.
And you donated two weeks
of the theatre space. Three.
I haven't told her what she's gotta
do yet! We're negotiating. We are.
Oh, my God, there's a...
A swan. We're trying this out.
It's not finished.
How are ticket sales? We're sold
out. Every night? All three nights.
Can't do better. Congratulations.
I could kiss everybody.
I think it's great that they've sold
out with a new company. Fabulous.
Here it comes again.
It hasn't got any feathers on,
but we're still not sure about it.
If ever that falls over,
you're in major schtuck.
David, could you do that again...?
Who's doing that? How is it moving?
We have a...
We don't look at things like that!
We don't film things like that.
That takes away the magic. Don't be
ridiculous. People don't want to
know it works. They do. They don't.
No-one thinks that's a real swan.
No... It's just a cardboard cutout.
If someone wants to know
how we do it,
they have to pay us for our method.
Is that a privileged technique?
Absolutely, so...
We can see this, though.
You don't give things like that
away. But we can show this. Yeah,
but don't show things like that.
So, please... Please?
Especially as Paul's not here.
If he says it's all right, it's OK,
but otherwise, no.
Is that one of Paul's designs?
Yeah. He made it,
I think, or his brother.
I'm going to check some other
things. I'll see you later. OK.
I hope it works for her.
They've spent a lot of money.
It's a very brave move.
Anyone who goes into producing now
is normally very foolish,
but at the least very, very brave.
Why?
Why? Because 95% of shows that open
lose money.
And what do you think of the...swan?
The mechanical sawn.
Er...personally, I wouldn't use it.
That's my opinion.
I thought it was looking all right.
D'you wanna say that again? It
looked all right. Without the smile.
It was!
I think it's great, the swan(!)
The big day - Ballet Imaginaire's
first night, and the crew are in
early getting everything in place.
There were still some problems,
and with Paul and I getting
on better, I saw a chance
to be involved in the production.
Would it be OK
if I pulled the swan tonight?
It would not. Ask me why. Why?
You have a devious and distorted
sense of humour.
You know if you entrusted that
to me I'd be a model of efficiency
and decorum. I don't know that.
I would expect it, but, then, you
might want to create the unexpected.
You're not in charge. Debbie is.
This is wonderfully true.
It's great.
I suggested to Paul that maybe
I could work the swan this evening.
That's entirely up to him. You were
on the fence about it, weren't you?
What? Me working the swan. Not on
opening night. Not on any night.
Maybe later in the run.
Not on ANY night.
I've been getting these beautiful
flowers. Oh, aren't those nice?
All these good-luck cards.
Would you like a tea or a coffee?
'With all the first-night
preparations seemingly in hand,
'Debbie wrote good-luck cards
to the dancers.'
My husband's a real chatterbox. Can
you hear him? He does go on a bit.
Well, I mean it's nice.
Nice to talk.
What are you doing up there?
Waiting for MY cup of tea.
Debbie, d'you know...?
Can I say this, Paul,
what Debbie reminded you of?
She knows already. Does she? Yeah.
The little mannequin
that separated the paragraphs
in Penthouse or Playboy.
What did you think? I'd never seen
it, so I couldn't form an opinion.
Very attractive.
And the oddity, and it is an oddity
in this day and age of "who cares?",
is that Debbie's still
the same shape. She's fabulous.
You do have a great figure. Thanks.
Is that part of not having children?
No. No, I think... People say that,
but look at Jane Seymour
and how many children she's had
and she's got an amazing figure.
Was there a...? Did you ever want
to have kids, Debbie? No, never.
D'you know why? No, I don't.
I didn't play with dolls
when I was little. I read books.
There hasn't been a moment where
I've thought, "I should have one."
I've never questioned it... I just
worked out that this thing I keep
sticking up my nose is a mike cover.
Milk, Paul? Milk and sugar, please.
Is there a fear that Debbie will
become too beloved of the public?
I am well aware
that the world of show business
is a very...transient thing.
Yeah. It just comes and it goes.
Debbie's going into her prime,
really. Yeah. Aren't you, Debbie?
I suppose so. It does feel that way.
Yeah, it's exciting. That's quite
a lot of pressure on a relationship.
In a way, it is. No, it isn't.
I think it depends on the people.
The thing is with Paul is
that he has an unbelievable talent
which I know that I haven't got.
I haven't got that extra something
he's got,
and people who become stars like
Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Paul,
have something extra
which other performers don't have.
Paul and Debbie throw a party
for theatre managers,
friends and family,
including Debbie's mum, Babs,
dad, Pat, and sister, Donna.
'This is your five-minute call.'
Enjoy it, girls. Thank you.
And then it was showtime.
I'd never seen any ballet before,
so I didn't know what to expect.
The show's in three parts - two
of them classical and one brand new.
The classical sections were extracts
from Swan Lake and Coppelia.
I couldn't follow all the action,
but the dancers seemed excellent.
The third part was called
The Artist's Dream, with a story
by Paul and choreography by Debbie.
It was the most interesting part,
with a West End musical feel to it,
about an artist who falls asleep
and is visited by a dream maker
who brings the painting to life.
It also used the magical happening
designed by Paul,
built by his brother, Trevor.
It had been a really good show
and the audience loved it.
Well done, everybody.
Whoa! There's people out there
from New York saying, "Never seen
anything like it." They loved you.
Whoa-ho! That was so good. Whoa!
I might take this dancing up.
Will you marry me again? Yes.
CHEERING
Thank you, darling. Wow.
Debbie, a small token of
congratulations and felicitations.
Louis! Have we got a straw(?)
Thank you. You've been so wonderful.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you.
He's just trying to get into your
bedroom. He's been trying for weeks!
But you're always there, darling.
Little old party pooper me!
You hold the matches
and you go one, two, three. Oh, God.
Was Paul joking about my trying
to get in the bedroom? He was.
You haven't got to grips
with his sense of humour.
There's no such thing as a joke.
He doesn't want us in there.
Is he worried that you fancy me
and I fancy you?
The chemistry can't be denied.
Do we think this is true?
Here's to Paul and Debbie
and Ballet Imaginaire.
'Ballet Imaginaire's first night
had been a success.
'I thought that might warrant
a drink in Paul and Debbie's room.'
No. Remember the rules. You never
see the bedroom. Good night, Louis.
That was a joke, right?
Nope.
The following morning,
and the dancers and Paul and Debbie
left to begin touring the country.
My plan was to catch up with them
later in the tour.
When I next checked in, the tour
had reached Stirling in Scotland.
Things weren't going to plan.
Ticket sales were down, with Paul
blaming the petrol crisis.
The company was losing money.
Are you worried at all? No, I have
written off the loss, mentally.
How much? Oh...shall we say...
well in excess of 100,000,
you know? Yeah.
And, er... Cos before you were
saying you'd not quite break even.
I thought maybe 20,000
would go down the tube.
Now it's 100,000. Plus.
And you're gonna go back on the road
touring the Paul Daniels Magic Show.
This, in terms of economics,
will be very useful
to help to fund the ballet.
My life is now wrapped up
in the ballet and Debbie,
so it's not just me paying my bills,
it's me keeping this product there.
How does Debbie feel about it?
When this hit in, Debbie, whose
initial reaction was, "Blimey...!"
When what hit in? The loss.
The loss. The amount of the loss.
And the fact that the theatres
weren't going to be sold out.
Well, we were prepared for a loss,
but not this volume.
'With fewer than half the tickets
sold for tonight's performance,
we drummed up an audience.'
Wanna come? When we're finished.
Just say, "Paul Daniels said
we could come and watch the ballet."
D'you wanna come and watch it?
We might do, actually.
It starts in five minutes.
Paul, these guys are coming.
They're not paying? What? They're
not paying? I don't want them to.
I just want 'em to get interested.
Next time we come, they'll pay.
Please...your friends went this way.
The next day,
Paul had been booked to appear
on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook,
so we broke away from the tour.
He was now committed to coming out
of retirement with a new magic show.
The appearance is useful publicity.
Will you do some magic on the show?
No, none at all. No? No.
Not at all.
I think you shouldn't cross
that kind of boundary.
If they want that,
they should plan that in advance.
Magic should not just be a passing
thing. It should be thought through.
Are you ready for a bit of cooking?
No, I can't cook.
'From the moment we arrived,
I sensed Paul was out of sorts.'
Who is Paul up against? Anna Ryder
Richardson from Changing Rooms.
Anna Ryder Richardson, Paul.
It's A-list.
..He doesn't know who she is.
..From Changing Rooms. That's good.
Are you gonna do some tricks? No.
I'm Paul Daniels. I'm Anna. Hi.
Hello. This is Chris, our director.
Nice to meet you. Hi, Chris.
Er...just shoot me like a football.
OK. Have you seen the programme?
No. No.
That's where you come through.
Who opens them?
A man opens them for you. Right.
So you start up here.
Pop you in behind.
Your bag'll be in here already.
Hmm. Does it look all right, Paul?
I'm just curious. Did you not find
that interesting - you push one open
and they both open? No.
It's got a pulley system.
You're not curious at all, are you?
Must be counterweighted.
Ainsley'll be in the middle.
He'll be here. Swing round, then.
He'll push you through to there.
Lesley'll be here.
So, we'll probably...
Lesley will give you the first thing
you need to do.
We'll get all the pots and pans
ready.
On the word "cook", put the apron on.
It's over there. I can't reach it.
Ainsley'll help you. All right, then.
Do you want to try? No.
At the end of 20 minutes, we stop
cooking. Yep. We send you out
and the audience vote. OK.
You all right, Paul?
You going to do any magic?
Not as far as I know.
Shall I carry on...?
Are you just pacing out, Paul?
After 20 minutes we leave
the studio, the audience votes
and we taste the food.
You have taken it all in. Yes,
sorry, love. I'm terrible at that.
I tend to wander off but I am
listening all the time. Brilliant.
I was getting the feeling that
Paul didn't like this kind of show.
To change the mood,
I asked him about his autobiography.
In your, um, autobiography,
there is quite a bit
about your...your sexploits.
I had a good time, yeah. It was
a time for having a good time.
Was it? Yeah.
'70s, '80s - '70s, was it?
Yeah, it would be, I guess.
And is that true about the
more than 300 partners? Er...yeah.
Was that groupies
who would turn up to your show?
Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes.
It was just...there was a lot
of sex around because the girls
had discovered the Pill,
and started to do everything
the lads had been doing for years.
I was on my own...and travelling...
and so it...it was just the scene.
Then along came herpes and AIDS
and all that...
And Debbie.
Oh, yeah. And Debbie.
Could you remember all the names?
Or was it like "That one
in the back of the Cortina"?
The Cortina!
Oh, dear... I DID have a Cortina
at one time.
AINSLEY HARRIOT: Hello, Paul.
Ainsley. Lovely to see you again.
Family well?
Er...yes. I see Debbie again...
I'll check with Louis.
When do I see Debbie again?
Saturday. Louis knows, does he?
How do you do? Pleased to meet you.
We met before, didn't we? Probably.
In the corridors. The corridors
of power. Drifting around.
- Lights up.
- Four, three, two...
AINSLEY: He has stunned audiences
all over the world with his magic.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Paul Daniels!
APPLAUSE
Oh, lovely!
What about you going on tour?
Are we going to see more of you?
It's called "An Audience With".
And Debbie is on the road with
a ballet company I help manage.
Beautiful. That's lovely.
Game of cards?
I haven't got time.
Do you want a trick,
ladies and gentlemen?
Here's a good one.
Pick a card. Any card.
Do you like that one? Yeah.
Four of spades. Saves time.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Mm! That's good! Isn't that tasty?
That meal was delicious!
She is one good cook!
She was good, wasn't she?
You weren't helping much. I can't.
I didn't know what the hell
was going off up there.
And then it rained. In fact,
it rained so much that the Thames
flooded Paul and Debbie's house.
Will it all be covered
by the insurance? Oh, yes.
How much water was in here, then?
About an inch.
How does it look upstairs?
The same as it did before.
That you didn't see before.
The bit you never get to see.
Maybe it would make sense for me
to have a quick look. No!
No. I like you.
..Not a lot, but...!
'Ballet Imaginaire were playing
Harlow. I gave Paul and Debbie
a lift.'
My feet are freezing. 'I thought the
ballet's financial problems would
put a strain on their relationship,
'but if so,
they weren't showing it.'
# Anything you can do,
I can do better
I can do anything better than you
# No, you can't! Yes, I can!
No, you can't! Yes, I can... #
We mustn't be this mad. Why not?
'That afternoon,
we left Debbie to set up while
we went out shopping together.'
On the one page, at no extra charge,
not only me...
but you! Oh, go on, then.
Him as well.
I came to see you in Yarmouth years
ago. Am I the father of your child?
No. Just checking.
What was he doing in Great Yarmouth?
Doing his magic show.
That's where you met Debbie,
isn't it? Yes! You're right!
Could have been you.
How do you drink this?
Not to the camera, please!
To me! I was looking for you!
How can I see you
if you're behind me, already?!
'Paul and I were getting on better
than we ever had before.
'He seemed relaxed
and I wondered if he was pleased
'to be taking his act back
on the road because of the ballet.'
If you're happy with your photo,
press the green button.
That's all right. Very good, yeah.
Paul, what do you think
of these ones?
Who is Paul Daniels?
He's a magic magician man.
Magic magician man?
Do you know his wife's name? No.
Ahh! I bet you would... Mrs Daniels.
After the performance, I wanted
to ask about Paul's change of mood.
Did you have a word with Paul? I
know we had a conversation about...
Here he comes.
Paul. We're talking about you.
I'm delighted. The box office
said they've never had as many
people in for a dance show.
Are you coming with me? No, Louis's
invited me back to his place.
Trust me. Come home with me!
No, I'm coming home with you.
See you soon!
We'll be with you in a minute.
So, no, but...it seems silly
but he seems much warmer,
much less suspicious.
No, I didn't say anything.
Have you noticed?
He's just a bit more
relaxed himself. Why?
He was worried when you were
first with him...
A) because we didn't know
what you were going to be like...
He worried about what you're going
to say. Do you like us?
We're not your sort of people.
No, I like you. Is that what
you were worrying about?
We thought you'd think
we were old-fashioned
and not into the things you're into.
So Paul, particularly - not me
so much - felt, "Oh," you know,
"we won't be your sort of thing."
Maybe because he's going back on
the road and he's doing this show.
He needs goals, doesn't he?
Yeah... To be busy with.
WHISTLE
The whistle. He wants me to go,
"Woof woof, I'm coming!"
Amazing! Whistle back.
People think, "It's awful!
He thinks you're a dog!"
But we always used to lose each
other... I never said it.
It was our last full day
of filming,
and Paul and I dropped in
to see Keith and Mervyn,
his management team.
They had business to discuss
and we were asked to leave the room.
The meeting left Paul
in an angry mood.
Come on, you bugger! Move your arse!
What happened in the meeting?
Mr Nasty! Can you tell us
what happened?
What? What happened in the meeting?
What meeting?
The one we weren't allowed to see.
Oh, that? It's all right.
Come on. You can tell us. You're not
interested in my money. We are!
We are, Paul.
Was it about the ballet?
Was it about the ballet?
So what happened in that meeting?
Can you tell us?
What were Keith and Mervyn saying?
They were saying...
do I...do I force them...
into continuing to spend
a lot of time on finding odd dates
in the spring
or do I put them
into saturating the autumn?
So Mervyn and Keith
have been faxing theatres
saying, "Would you like to see
Ballet Imaginaire?"
No, they've been faxing theatres
with both shows.
And getting a great response
on Paul Daniels Audience...
The theatres are...some are taking
it, or want to take it.
Most of them already have ballet in.
A more muted response on the ballet
because they've already got ballet.
Yes. So what were they...?
Keith and Mervyn ware saying...
They cannot make the decisions.
They are there to do a job.
And they... Expressed the opinion...
They asked me...
do I still...do they still
keep on going...with the spring,
or pull the plugs on the spring
from the public point of view,
go for it just for the sponsorship.
I said I had to think about it.
Because they haven't...
At the same time,
the Louis Theroux A-Team...
nah, the Louis Theroux Z-Team...
have asked me to do things and I'm
having to think about the business.
You're a very nice man but you were
interfering with my business. When?!
When I was thinking.
When you were in a bad mood?
I wasn't!
No, listen... If I'm in a bad mood,
I flip in a bad mood.
Mervyn and... Do you?
Oh, I would throw you
across the room when I get angry.
So I don't bother getting angry
any more. I once was angry.
And so we drove on to Henley where,
for our last night,
Debbie was preparing
a special end-of-filming feast.
What's on the menu? Apple and
mushroom soup...with hot bread...
Mmm! Chicken in a marsala and
mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes,
beans and... Delicious! ..carrots.
And then I've made a banoffee pie.
Amazing!
To the three of us.
To the three of us. How's that?
Menage a trois. Cheers. Pardon?!
You say these words,
you've no idea what they mean. I do!
I realised after I'd said it...
on camera.
D'you think this'll help the ballet,
you having done this documentary?
Yeah. I hope so. That's why
you did it. No. Why did you do it?
We wanted to meet you. Oh, please!
We'd heard so much about you.
I almost believed you for a second.
I've seen your programmes.
No, you haven't. I saw that one
on swingers and wanted to meet you.
That's not true. You've just gone
from a menage a trois to swingers!
I'm in that sort of mood. I don't
know what's happened on this tour.
Right, shall we...? Can I admire
your outfit? It's amazing, isn't it?
I thought it was a skirt,
but it's a... Catsuit.
A catsuit?
Come out from behind the thing.
That's incredible.
Is that one piece? Yes.
The frilly bits are built in.
Are they? Hmm. Yeah.
Do it like this. Not with
these glasses on the table.
What's a few glasses? Live a little!
One, two, three!
Isn't that cool? Yeah.
PAUL LAUGHS
Sorry.
'I drank a fair amount that night.
'It all seemed very relaxed and we
were happy in each other's company.
'I don't think it was just the wine
that made me feel that.'
DEBBIE'S LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT PAUL
# When Irish eyes are smiling...! #
Tilt it up a bit.
Yeah! There you go.
Too right.
And here we are
in the kitchen of Debbie McGee!
Where a garden gnome has come in
and sat down. Thank you very much!
That's my office over there.
'A couple of glasses of wine later,
I was moved to say a few words.'
What I'm amazed by,
at the risk of being over-candid,
is that this is Debbie's dream
and I've been looking for tension,
the idea that Paul resents spending
a lot of money on it,
but I haven't really seen it.
Debbie did exactly the same thing
for me and the magic shows.
That surprised you.
You noticed? Yeah.
You asked lots of questions saying,
"Don't you think that Paul...?"
I said no and now you know I wasn't
lying. It upsets some journalists.
What? I know you're a journalist
and it upsets them that we get along
and that we're happy together and
I think, "Get a life of your own.
"Stop poking into mine."
A genuinely happy couple is
a rare thing. No, it's not! It is.
I think there's billions of us
and it's all the little
manky, miserable little people
who make the biggest shout.
You're so bitter.
Why did you get so angry?
I just think it's so sad
that these people have the voice,
when the truth is that most people
on the planet are very happy.
Paul and Debbie do seem happy.
They genuinely care for
and rely on each other,
united against the manky
and miserable little people,
a magic circle of two.
Good to see you, son. Take care.
Thanks. Do call again. I will.
Arrivederci. Arrivederci.
Hasta luego.
He could wipe it out!
See you, Louis!
Will we miss him? Not a lot!
He's all right.
We are totally mad!
To the three of us. Menage a trois!
In a village in Oxfordshire, on the
banks of the Thames, lives Britain's
most famous magician - Paul Daniels,
with his wife and former assistant,
Debbie McGee.
Now in their 60s and 40s
respectively, the couple are
entering a new phase in their lives.
They allowed me to spend some time
getting to know them.
I don't want you to film
at this door.
Come to the other door, cos this is
the bit we haven't finished, so...
OK. Sorry about that. All right.
Hello, there! Come in, Louis.
Shall I take my shoes off? Um...yes,
please. Why not? We've got ours off.
How are you doing? Not bad.
He's just on the phone.
He'll be with you in a second.
I'm in bare feet.
Look how small I am!
I haven't got high shoes on today.
This becomes the lounge. Very nice.
This is amazing, the way this is
recessed. Yeah. Debbie got a shock.
She went out. When she came back, no
chimney. I had to get my whip out!
I dunno... It works! Crikey! What
is that? It's a standard lamp, son.
These books look like
they might be quite valuable. Um...
Robert Houdin. The father of modern
magic - Jean Eugene Robert Houdin.
Lived in the last century... Nice.
Yes, the drawing. Is it in all your
books? Mm. It's called a book plate.
What about up here, Paul and Debbie?
Well, no. All the bedrooms are
currently being done. Oh, they are.
Very good try! We've allowed you in,
but we said until we'd finished the
house we weren't thinking of doing
anything. We want it to be finished.
I would like to see YOUR bedroom.
Is that done? Nope. No. No?
We just told you it wasn't! Please
pay attention! Cheeky little monkey!
Wants us to take him up there,
but I'm not.
'With the bedroom off limits, it was
time to get down to business, and
the biggest reason why I was here.
'With Paul now retired
from the world of magic,
'Debbie was about to fulfil a dream,
setting up her own company -
Ballet Imaginaire - funded by Paul.'
Here on the poster
it says, "Debbie McGee
for PDM International Presents..."
So it doesn't actually say
Paul Daniels anywhere on the poster.
No. I'm just paying for it.
Can I ask how much? We'll be
looking at about 300 grand, I think.
We can't make a profit on the first
run. It's impossible. So you're not
doing this for financial reasons?
Not yet.
What ARE you doing it for, then?
I'm doing it because Debbie wanted
to do it. I think she's good at it.
The original impetus was yours,
Debbie? Yep. With Paul's backing.
It was something he knew I wanted
to do, and he said go ahead.
You were with the Iranian National
Ballet? Yes, I was. So did you dance
for the Shah of Iran? I did, yes.
It was amazing.
Was he nice? Lovely. And his wife.
I was there when the revolution
broke out and that's how I met Paul,
how I auditioned for his show.
I came home and all the English
ballet companies were full,
and I needed a job.
You knew you'd be a magician's
assistant? Well, no. I auditioned
for Paul's show as a dancer.
So for a good few years, while
you were working in the magic,
at the back of your mind there's
been this idea of going back
to ballet? Yeah, absolutely.
It was always my first love. It must
be weird for you, Paul, to get used
to being, in effect, the assistant -
now Debbie's the magician! It's
wonderful. I've no problems with it.
This is all your stuff. We should be
looking at this. If you want to,
Mr Cameraman. Rehearsal schedule.
I don't like showing people
my untidy areas, but here we are.
These are all my files.
Is this your bag? Yes. You don't
want to see my underwear, do you?!
Sorry, Paul. My lacy knickers!
You can if you want.
I'm sure you've seen it all before.
Are there tricks in the ballet?
It's got magical bits. Not tricks.
Paul just said there WERE tricks.
Magical happenings. Yes,
special effects. Magical happenings?
It's like Paul did... OK, you both
want to say magical happenings!
Paul did special effects
for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom...
Phantom Of The Opera? Yeah. People
didn't watch it... I've not seen it.
You don't think, "Oh, that's a magic
trick." It's a magical happening!
Come on then, duckies!
'At the end of our first day
together, I had a chance to reflect.
'I felt Debbie and I were getting on
pretty well. With Paul, I thought,
maybe there was more work to do.'
You're all perky this morning?
Oh, yes. Good morning, everybody.
..Would you like some orange juice?
Yes, please. I'd love a coffee.
Can I give you a hand, Debbie?
No, you're all right.
You sure? Nearly there. Coffee's on,
Louis. It'll wake you up
in a minute. Breakfast is coming.
What do you prefer?
Oh!
I've got Frosties, Country Crisps,
Cornflakes, Weetabix and Shreddies.
Could I...could I get some
Weetabix and Cornflakes, please?
Yep. Together.
With the premiere
of Ballet Imaginaire looming,
Paul and Debbie were moving
up to Lincoln for final rehearsals.
He and I went on ahead in his van.
We stopped for the Sunday Telegraph,
which had a feature about Debbie.
Shall I read it out? If you like.
Can you read while we drive? Yeah.
"Debbie McGee is pleasant,
thoughtful, hospitable, forthcoming.
"Considering what has been written
about her being a gold-digger,
"and she was the subject of sexually
depraved photographs..." What?!
"..computer-generated..." Oh, yeah.
Somebody on the Internet has...
mocked up some pictures, apparently,
and everybody writes to me -
I get a lot of e-mail about it.
I say, "Please,
if you know the site, tell me."
Because apparently
they're really bad.
Hi. Louis. How do you do? Not bad.
'Our next stop was at Paul's younger
brother Trevor's house, for a prop
he'd made for a magical happening.'
If you take that to a bank,
they'll laugh at you!
Take it to a chemist, they'll make
it up. "Take three times a day...!"
I've seen the show. Yeah. That's
for your...all the stuff you spent.
When we reached Lincoln,
Paul and Debbie got down to work.
Debbie was rehearsing with the cast.
Artistic director and choreographer,
she was clearly in her element.
It's gotta have pzazz.
What is your function here today?
I keep a general, overall eye open.
I've always had an eye for detail.
What's the delay now?
Waiting for lighting, that's all.
I can't do a lot more...
The next day, rehearsals continued,
and so Paul took me to Doncaster,
to a warehouse where he keeps props.
Maybe we could do some tricks there.
You forgot to bring Debbie. Meaning?
I'll be Debbie! She's got to get in.
# I'll be your Debbie tonight! #
What about this?
What've you got? What've you got?
Oh, I remember them. Yes.
They were a good act.
There you are.
Oh, it's quite clean inside.
You see, if you stand there...
Quite a tight squeeze, isn't it?
Is that safe? It's all safe, yes.
You see, you're far too big for it.
Do you see what I mean?
Close the door.
Right, I think
it's coffee-break time, don't you?
Everybody say yes to a coffee?
The team... How long would you have
to stay in here for a magic trick?
Paul?
PAUL STAYS SILEN It's quite nice in here.
Hmm.
Well, I'm glad about that.
I'll tell you why.
All the boxes I make...
Please close it. Please close it!
Shouldn't I be elsewhere?
No, you're supposed to be there.
Debbie has probably spent hours
in there. Well... And you wonder
why she wants to do ballet!
This is like a life's work in here,
isn't it? A major part of my life,
yeah, is all stuffed in here.
But it's time for a new life.
When you stopped working with
the BBC, how did that come about?
Er...
They had a change of policy. I don't
think it was anything personal.
They just, um...decided...
not to do
a light entertainment show.
Did you feel at all hard done by?
How did they break it to you that
your services weren't required?
Well, they didn't break it to me.
I found out from a dress designer
at a party.
Did you feel ill-used?
I don't think I felt ill-used. I
felt that they were extremely rude.
'I couldn't be sure,
but it was possible that
Paul and I were starting to bond.
'In Lincoln, the world premiere of
Ballet Imaginaire was drawing close.
'It seemed to be coming together.
'But I wondered what Debbie felt
about Paul's involvement.'
Do you worry that Paul might feel
left out? I did worry at first
that he would. But he doesn't.
He is a part of it
because of me anyway,
and he's done a lot of work for it.
This morning, he's off collecting
the photographs and things.
He's going to make a display
for the foyer.
But when you think about it,
it's quite a comedown from being
the nation's favourite magician.
Pinning up photographs. But he wants
to do it. He's helping me. And...
Paul's like that. You know, he's
been famous for such a long time,
Louis, it's nice to have a break.
PHONE RINGS
And for you to get the limelight.
'To publicise the ballet,
Debbie was doing phone interviews.'
Thank you. ..Yep, absolutely.
A childhood dream come true.
It sounds very sugary, doesn't it?
But, yeah, ballet was my first love.
I put that on the shelf for 20 years
to work in television as a "box
jumper", as they call assistants!
..Yeah. Box jumpers -
jumping in and out of illusions.
..What we've always thought
when we read those articles is,
"What do they know?
Aren't we lucky that we're happy?"
When they wrote I was a bimbo...
It never hurt me, cos they don't
know what qualifications I've got.
Thanks, Peter. Bye-bye.
That was more in-depth
than I thought it would be. I know.
He'd done his homework. He had.
What was the question about a bimbo?
Oh, about getting hurt
about what the papers write?
When Paul and I got married, they
all wrote that it would never last,
and that I was a magician's
assistant with no brains.
I don't consider myself a bimbo, but
I like wearing glamorous clothes.
If I really was a bimbo, um...
So what, anyway? You know?
Come on! We have to walk faster!
Why fast? Cos I don't walk slowly.
And I'm almost late.
No, I'm on time. It's not far.
How are you doing? How do you do?
Roger, isn't it?
They're going to transform me now.
So, um...you have to go, so that...
What about if we just wait here?
No, you can't, Louis. Can't we watch
from here? Go on. No, no, look.
We'll dye your hair blond! It might
be a harassment to other customers.
There aren't any! Where are they?
Yes, this lady. She's looking
harassed. You're all right,
aren't you? You don't mind us?
She doesn't want her friends to see
her under the hairdryer. Nor do I.
I'll be finished at about 12.30,
won't I? I think so. Two hours?!
Yeah. It's a long job.
All right? OK?
See you later. Bye. Bye.
With two hours to kill,
I went for a cup of tea
and spotted Paul in the high street.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
Debs, there's a film crew
up the high street,
for some reason taking pictures
of a cafe. Where are you?
Paul! Hello? Where are you?
Hello?
Welcome to Lincoln,
the twilight zone. Phones do not
work! Paul... Oh, there you are!
Here's Debbie again.
Hello? She's getting her hair done.
I'm in the hairdresser's.
She's in the hairdresser's.
..I'm gonna buy shoes.
How are you, Debbie? You've got
Louis with you, have you? Yes!
Life is not perfect. You don't
mean it, but it's still hurtful.
Are you going shopping? I'm going
to buy shoes cos I forgot 'em. Bye.
See you later, Debbie... Oh. You
don't hang around, do you? No, no!
She's seen us.
Can we come in? Of course.
You take a lot of pride in your
appearance and it shows. Thank you.
D'you think Paul takes a lot of care
of his appearance? He's very clean.
Hygiene? Yeah.
What about clothes? He's more
interested in other things.
He's got quite funny fashion sense.
He likes colourful things. He does.
He's not, sort of, dowdy,
but he's not interested
in men's fashion at all.
That Telegraph article
said that you convinced him
to abandon the wig. Is that true?
I thought he looked better
without it. Did you? Yeah.
Would he wear it in bed? Oh, no.
Maybe he did before he met me.
You'll have to ask him that one.
That's a good one, isn't it, Louis?
That's made us all laugh.
So, he'd be like, "Good night,
Debbie. Let's brush our teeth and
I'll take my wig off and then..."
It'd be quite funny. D'you know
what we use his old wigs for now?
Cleaning the car.
No. Keeping the teapot warm.
No! Not really! That's a Debbie
joke. Is that a Debbie joke? Yeah.
This is Louis Theroux. You're Chris
and you own the theatre. 'Fraid so.
And you donated two weeks
of the theatre space. Three.
I haven't told her what she's gotta
do yet! We're negotiating. We are.
Oh, my God, there's a...
A swan. We're trying this out.
It's not finished.
How are ticket sales? We're sold
out. Every night? All three nights.
Can't do better. Congratulations.
I could kiss everybody.
I think it's great that they've sold
out with a new company. Fabulous.
Here it comes again.
It hasn't got any feathers on,
but we're still not sure about it.
If ever that falls over,
you're in major schtuck.
David, could you do that again...?
Who's doing that? How is it moving?
We have a...
We don't look at things like that!
We don't film things like that.
That takes away the magic. Don't be
ridiculous. People don't want to
know it works. They do. They don't.
No-one thinks that's a real swan.
No... It's just a cardboard cutout.
If someone wants to know
how we do it,
they have to pay us for our method.
Is that a privileged technique?
Absolutely, so...
We can see this, though.
You don't give things like that
away. But we can show this. Yeah,
but don't show things like that.
So, please... Please?
Especially as Paul's not here.
If he says it's all right, it's OK,
but otherwise, no.
Is that one of Paul's designs?
Yeah. He made it,
I think, or his brother.
I'm going to check some other
things. I'll see you later. OK.
I hope it works for her.
They've spent a lot of money.
It's a very brave move.
Anyone who goes into producing now
is normally very foolish,
but at the least very, very brave.
Why?
Why? Because 95% of shows that open
lose money.
And what do you think of the...swan?
The mechanical sawn.
Er...personally, I wouldn't use it.
That's my opinion.
I thought it was looking all right.
D'you wanna say that again? It
looked all right. Without the smile.
It was!
I think it's great, the swan(!)
The big day - Ballet Imaginaire's
first night, and the crew are in
early getting everything in place.
There were still some problems,
and with Paul and I getting
on better, I saw a chance
to be involved in the production.
Would it be OK
if I pulled the swan tonight?
It would not. Ask me why. Why?
You have a devious and distorted
sense of humour.
You know if you entrusted that
to me I'd be a model of efficiency
and decorum. I don't know that.
I would expect it, but, then, you
might want to create the unexpected.
You're not in charge. Debbie is.
This is wonderfully true.
It's great.
I suggested to Paul that maybe
I could work the swan this evening.
That's entirely up to him. You were
on the fence about it, weren't you?
What? Me working the swan. Not on
opening night. Not on any night.
Maybe later in the run.
Not on ANY night.
I've been getting these beautiful
flowers. Oh, aren't those nice?
All these good-luck cards.
Would you like a tea or a coffee?
'With all the first-night
preparations seemingly in hand,
'Debbie wrote good-luck cards
to the dancers.'
My husband's a real chatterbox. Can
you hear him? He does go on a bit.
Well, I mean it's nice.
Nice to talk.
What are you doing up there?
Waiting for MY cup of tea.
Debbie, d'you know...?
Can I say this, Paul,
what Debbie reminded you of?
She knows already. Does she? Yeah.
The little mannequin
that separated the paragraphs
in Penthouse or Playboy.
What did you think? I'd never seen
it, so I couldn't form an opinion.
Very attractive.
And the oddity, and it is an oddity
in this day and age of "who cares?",
is that Debbie's still
the same shape. She's fabulous.
You do have a great figure. Thanks.
Is that part of not having children?
No. No, I think... People say that,
but look at Jane Seymour
and how many children she's had
and she's got an amazing figure.
Was there a...? Did you ever want
to have kids, Debbie? No, never.
D'you know why? No, I don't.
I didn't play with dolls
when I was little. I read books.
There hasn't been a moment where
I've thought, "I should have one."
I've never questioned it... I just
worked out that this thing I keep
sticking up my nose is a mike cover.
Milk, Paul? Milk and sugar, please.
Is there a fear that Debbie will
become too beloved of the public?
I am well aware
that the world of show business
is a very...transient thing.
Yeah. It just comes and it goes.
Debbie's going into her prime,
really. Yeah. Aren't you, Debbie?
I suppose so. It does feel that way.
Yeah, it's exciting. That's quite
a lot of pressure on a relationship.
In a way, it is. No, it isn't.
I think it depends on the people.
The thing is with Paul is
that he has an unbelievable talent
which I know that I haven't got.
I haven't got that extra something
he's got,
and people who become stars like
Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Paul,
have something extra
which other performers don't have.
Paul and Debbie throw a party
for theatre managers,
friends and family,
including Debbie's mum, Babs,
dad, Pat, and sister, Donna.
'This is your five-minute call.'
Enjoy it, girls. Thank you.
And then it was showtime.
I'd never seen any ballet before,
so I didn't know what to expect.
The show's in three parts - two
of them classical and one brand new.
The classical sections were extracts
from Swan Lake and Coppelia.
I couldn't follow all the action,
but the dancers seemed excellent.
The third part was called
The Artist's Dream, with a story
by Paul and choreography by Debbie.
It was the most interesting part,
with a West End musical feel to it,
about an artist who falls asleep
and is visited by a dream maker
who brings the painting to life.
It also used the magical happening
designed by Paul,
built by his brother, Trevor.
It had been a really good show
and the audience loved it.
Well done, everybody.
Whoa! There's people out there
from New York saying, "Never seen
anything like it." They loved you.
Whoa-ho! That was so good. Whoa!
I might take this dancing up.
Will you marry me again? Yes.
CHEERING
Thank you, darling. Wow.
Debbie, a small token of
congratulations and felicitations.
Louis! Have we got a straw(?)
Thank you. You've been so wonderful.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you.
He's just trying to get into your
bedroom. He's been trying for weeks!
But you're always there, darling.
Little old party pooper me!
You hold the matches
and you go one, two, three. Oh, God.
Was Paul joking about my trying
to get in the bedroom? He was.
You haven't got to grips
with his sense of humour.
There's no such thing as a joke.
He doesn't want us in there.
Is he worried that you fancy me
and I fancy you?
The chemistry can't be denied.
Do we think this is true?
Here's to Paul and Debbie
and Ballet Imaginaire.
'Ballet Imaginaire's first night
had been a success.
'I thought that might warrant
a drink in Paul and Debbie's room.'
No. Remember the rules. You never
see the bedroom. Good night, Louis.
That was a joke, right?
Nope.
The following morning,
and the dancers and Paul and Debbie
left to begin touring the country.
My plan was to catch up with them
later in the tour.
When I next checked in, the tour
had reached Stirling in Scotland.
Things weren't going to plan.
Ticket sales were down, with Paul
blaming the petrol crisis.
The company was losing money.
Are you worried at all? No, I have
written off the loss, mentally.
How much? Oh...shall we say...
well in excess of 100,000,
you know? Yeah.
And, er... Cos before you were
saying you'd not quite break even.
I thought maybe 20,000
would go down the tube.
Now it's 100,000. Plus.
And you're gonna go back on the road
touring the Paul Daniels Magic Show.
This, in terms of economics,
will be very useful
to help to fund the ballet.
My life is now wrapped up
in the ballet and Debbie,
so it's not just me paying my bills,
it's me keeping this product there.
How does Debbie feel about it?
When this hit in, Debbie, whose
initial reaction was, "Blimey...!"
When what hit in? The loss.
The loss. The amount of the loss.
And the fact that the theatres
weren't going to be sold out.
Well, we were prepared for a loss,
but not this volume.
'With fewer than half the tickets
sold for tonight's performance,
we drummed up an audience.'
Wanna come? When we're finished.
Just say, "Paul Daniels said
we could come and watch the ballet."
D'you wanna come and watch it?
We might do, actually.
It starts in five minutes.
Paul, these guys are coming.
They're not paying? What? They're
not paying? I don't want them to.
I just want 'em to get interested.
Next time we come, they'll pay.
Please...your friends went this way.
The next day,
Paul had been booked to appear
on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook,
so we broke away from the tour.
He was now committed to coming out
of retirement with a new magic show.
The appearance is useful publicity.
Will you do some magic on the show?
No, none at all. No? No.
Not at all.
I think you shouldn't cross
that kind of boundary.
If they want that,
they should plan that in advance.
Magic should not just be a passing
thing. It should be thought through.
Are you ready for a bit of cooking?
No, I can't cook.
'From the moment we arrived,
I sensed Paul was out of sorts.'
Who is Paul up against? Anna Ryder
Richardson from Changing Rooms.
Anna Ryder Richardson, Paul.
It's A-list.
..He doesn't know who she is.
..From Changing Rooms. That's good.
Are you gonna do some tricks? No.
I'm Paul Daniels. I'm Anna. Hi.
Hello. This is Chris, our director.
Nice to meet you. Hi, Chris.
Er...just shoot me like a football.
OK. Have you seen the programme?
No. No.
That's where you come through.
Who opens them?
A man opens them for you. Right.
So you start up here.
Pop you in behind.
Your bag'll be in here already.
Hmm. Does it look all right, Paul?
I'm just curious. Did you not find
that interesting - you push one open
and they both open? No.
It's got a pulley system.
You're not curious at all, are you?
Must be counterweighted.
Ainsley'll be in the middle.
He'll be here. Swing round, then.
He'll push you through to there.
Lesley'll be here.
So, we'll probably...
Lesley will give you the first thing
you need to do.
We'll get all the pots and pans
ready.
On the word "cook", put the apron on.
It's over there. I can't reach it.
Ainsley'll help you. All right, then.
Do you want to try? No.
At the end of 20 minutes, we stop
cooking. Yep. We send you out
and the audience vote. OK.
You all right, Paul?
You going to do any magic?
Not as far as I know.
Shall I carry on...?
Are you just pacing out, Paul?
After 20 minutes we leave
the studio, the audience votes
and we taste the food.
You have taken it all in. Yes,
sorry, love. I'm terrible at that.
I tend to wander off but I am
listening all the time. Brilliant.
I was getting the feeling that
Paul didn't like this kind of show.
To change the mood,
I asked him about his autobiography.
In your, um, autobiography,
there is quite a bit
about your...your sexploits.
I had a good time, yeah. It was
a time for having a good time.
Was it? Yeah.
'70s, '80s - '70s, was it?
Yeah, it would be, I guess.
And is that true about the
more than 300 partners? Er...yeah.
Was that groupies
who would turn up to your show?
Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes.
It was just...there was a lot
of sex around because the girls
had discovered the Pill,
and started to do everything
the lads had been doing for years.
I was on my own...and travelling...
and so it...it was just the scene.
Then along came herpes and AIDS
and all that...
And Debbie.
Oh, yeah. And Debbie.
Could you remember all the names?
Or was it like "That one
in the back of the Cortina"?
The Cortina!
Oh, dear... I DID have a Cortina
at one time.
AINSLEY HARRIOT: Hello, Paul.
Ainsley. Lovely to see you again.
Family well?
Er...yes. I see Debbie again...
I'll check with Louis.
When do I see Debbie again?
Saturday. Louis knows, does he?
How do you do? Pleased to meet you.
We met before, didn't we? Probably.
In the corridors. The corridors
of power. Drifting around.
- Lights up.
- Four, three, two...
AINSLEY: He has stunned audiences
all over the world with his magic.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Paul Daniels!
APPLAUSE
Oh, lovely!
What about you going on tour?
Are we going to see more of you?
It's called "An Audience With".
And Debbie is on the road with
a ballet company I help manage.
Beautiful. That's lovely.
Game of cards?
I haven't got time.
Do you want a trick,
ladies and gentlemen?
Here's a good one.
Pick a card. Any card.
Do you like that one? Yeah.
Four of spades. Saves time.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Mm! That's good! Isn't that tasty?
That meal was delicious!
She is one good cook!
She was good, wasn't she?
You weren't helping much. I can't.
I didn't know what the hell
was going off up there.
And then it rained. In fact,
it rained so much that the Thames
flooded Paul and Debbie's house.
Will it all be covered
by the insurance? Oh, yes.
How much water was in here, then?
About an inch.
How does it look upstairs?
The same as it did before.
That you didn't see before.
The bit you never get to see.
Maybe it would make sense for me
to have a quick look. No!
No. I like you.
..Not a lot, but...!
'Ballet Imaginaire were playing
Harlow. I gave Paul and Debbie
a lift.'
My feet are freezing. 'I thought the
ballet's financial problems would
put a strain on their relationship,
'but if so,
they weren't showing it.'
# Anything you can do,
I can do better
I can do anything better than you
# No, you can't! Yes, I can!
No, you can't! Yes, I can... #
We mustn't be this mad. Why not?
'That afternoon,
we left Debbie to set up while
we went out shopping together.'
On the one page, at no extra charge,
not only me...
but you! Oh, go on, then.
Him as well.
I came to see you in Yarmouth years
ago. Am I the father of your child?
No. Just checking.
What was he doing in Great Yarmouth?
Doing his magic show.
That's where you met Debbie,
isn't it? Yes! You're right!
Could have been you.
How do you drink this?
Not to the camera, please!
To me! I was looking for you!
How can I see you
if you're behind me, already?!
'Paul and I were getting on better
than we ever had before.
'He seemed relaxed
and I wondered if he was pleased
'to be taking his act back
on the road because of the ballet.'
If you're happy with your photo,
press the green button.
That's all right. Very good, yeah.
Paul, what do you think
of these ones?
Who is Paul Daniels?
He's a magic magician man.
Magic magician man?
Do you know his wife's name? No.
Ahh! I bet you would... Mrs Daniels.
After the performance, I wanted
to ask about Paul's change of mood.
Did you have a word with Paul? I
know we had a conversation about...
Here he comes.
Paul. We're talking about you.
I'm delighted. The box office
said they've never had as many
people in for a dance show.
Are you coming with me? No, Louis's
invited me back to his place.
Trust me. Come home with me!
No, I'm coming home with you.
See you soon!
We'll be with you in a minute.
So, no, but...it seems silly
but he seems much warmer,
much less suspicious.
No, I didn't say anything.
Have you noticed?
He's just a bit more
relaxed himself. Why?
He was worried when you were
first with him...
A) because we didn't know
what you were going to be like...
He worried about what you're going
to say. Do you like us?
We're not your sort of people.
No, I like you. Is that what
you were worrying about?
We thought you'd think
we were old-fashioned
and not into the things you're into.
So Paul, particularly - not me
so much - felt, "Oh," you know,
"we won't be your sort of thing."
Maybe because he's going back on
the road and he's doing this show.
He needs goals, doesn't he?
Yeah... To be busy with.
WHISTLE
The whistle. He wants me to go,
"Woof woof, I'm coming!"
Amazing! Whistle back.
People think, "It's awful!
He thinks you're a dog!"
But we always used to lose each
other... I never said it.
It was our last full day
of filming,
and Paul and I dropped in
to see Keith and Mervyn,
his management team.
They had business to discuss
and we were asked to leave the room.
The meeting left Paul
in an angry mood.
Come on, you bugger! Move your arse!
What happened in the meeting?
Mr Nasty! Can you tell us
what happened?
What? What happened in the meeting?
What meeting?
The one we weren't allowed to see.
Oh, that? It's all right.
Come on. You can tell us. You're not
interested in my money. We are!
We are, Paul.
Was it about the ballet?
Was it about the ballet?
So what happened in that meeting?
Can you tell us?
What were Keith and Mervyn saying?
They were saying...
do I...do I force them...
into continuing to spend
a lot of time on finding odd dates
in the spring
or do I put them
into saturating the autumn?
So Mervyn and Keith
have been faxing theatres
saying, "Would you like to see
Ballet Imaginaire?"
No, they've been faxing theatres
with both shows.
And getting a great response
on Paul Daniels Audience...
The theatres are...some are taking
it, or want to take it.
Most of them already have ballet in.
A more muted response on the ballet
because they've already got ballet.
Yes. So what were they...?
Keith and Mervyn ware saying...
They cannot make the decisions.
They are there to do a job.
And they... Expressed the opinion...
They asked me...
do I still...do they still
keep on going...with the spring,
or pull the plugs on the spring
from the public point of view,
go for it just for the sponsorship.
I said I had to think about it.
Because they haven't...
At the same time,
the Louis Theroux A-Team...
nah, the Louis Theroux Z-Team...
have asked me to do things and I'm
having to think about the business.
You're a very nice man but you were
interfering with my business. When?!
When I was thinking.
When you were in a bad mood?
I wasn't!
No, listen... If I'm in a bad mood,
I flip in a bad mood.
Mervyn and... Do you?
Oh, I would throw you
across the room when I get angry.
So I don't bother getting angry
any more. I once was angry.
And so we drove on to Henley where,
for our last night,
Debbie was preparing
a special end-of-filming feast.
What's on the menu? Apple and
mushroom soup...with hot bread...
Mmm! Chicken in a marsala and
mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes,
beans and... Delicious! ..carrots.
And then I've made a banoffee pie.
Amazing!
To the three of us.
To the three of us. How's that?
Menage a trois. Cheers. Pardon?!
You say these words,
you've no idea what they mean. I do!
I realised after I'd said it...
on camera.
D'you think this'll help the ballet,
you having done this documentary?
Yeah. I hope so. That's why
you did it. No. Why did you do it?
We wanted to meet you. Oh, please!
We'd heard so much about you.
I almost believed you for a second.
I've seen your programmes.
No, you haven't. I saw that one
on swingers and wanted to meet you.
That's not true. You've just gone
from a menage a trois to swingers!
I'm in that sort of mood. I don't
know what's happened on this tour.
Right, shall we...? Can I admire
your outfit? It's amazing, isn't it?
I thought it was a skirt,
but it's a... Catsuit.
A catsuit?
Come out from behind the thing.
That's incredible.
Is that one piece? Yes.
The frilly bits are built in.
Are they? Hmm. Yeah.
Do it like this. Not with
these glasses on the table.
What's a few glasses? Live a little!
One, two, three!
Isn't that cool? Yeah.
PAUL LAUGHS
Sorry.
'I drank a fair amount that night.
'It all seemed very relaxed and we
were happy in each other's company.
'I don't think it was just the wine
that made me feel that.'
DEBBIE'S LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT PAUL
# When Irish eyes are smiling...! #
Tilt it up a bit.
Yeah! There you go.
Too right.
And here we are
in the kitchen of Debbie McGee!
Where a garden gnome has come in
and sat down. Thank you very much!
That's my office over there.
'A couple of glasses of wine later,
I was moved to say a few words.'
What I'm amazed by,
at the risk of being over-candid,
is that this is Debbie's dream
and I've been looking for tension,
the idea that Paul resents spending
a lot of money on it,
but I haven't really seen it.
Debbie did exactly the same thing
for me and the magic shows.
That surprised you.
You noticed? Yeah.
You asked lots of questions saying,
"Don't you think that Paul...?"
I said no and now you know I wasn't
lying. It upsets some journalists.
What? I know you're a journalist
and it upsets them that we get along
and that we're happy together and
I think, "Get a life of your own.
"Stop poking into mine."
A genuinely happy couple is
a rare thing. No, it's not! It is.
I think there's billions of us
and it's all the little
manky, miserable little people
who make the biggest shout.
You're so bitter.
Why did you get so angry?
I just think it's so sad
that these people have the voice,
when the truth is that most people
on the planet are very happy.
Paul and Debbie do seem happy.
They genuinely care for
and rely on each other,
united against the manky
and miserable little people,
a magic circle of two.
Good to see you, son. Take care.
Thanks. Do call again. I will.
Arrivederci. Arrivederci.
Hasta luego.
He could wipe it out!
See you, Louis!
Will we miss him? Not a lot!
He's all right.
We are totally mad!