Derren Brown - The Events

Derren's first television special, Derren Brown: Mind Control, aired on Channel 4 in 1999. It introduced the public to the notion of psychological illusion and was followed by two further specials and all three were subsequently added to and re-cut into a six part series.

Russian Roulette was the first of several event specials. This was broadcast in October 2003 and featured a finale in which Derren played Russian Roulette live on air, guessing correctly which of six chambers in a gun contained a bullet. The show created a huge amount of media interest and an immense amount of controversy. This was followed by three series of a new show, Trick of the Mind, which helped confirm Derren's position as one of the world's most innovative and fascinating entertainers.

Parallel to the Trick of the Mind series further specials were broadcast, all with provocative themes. In Séance Derren used his skills to create the illusion that a group of students had contacted the dead. In Messiah he travelled to the USA and convince several experts in the paranormal that he had 'special' powers. In The Gathering Derren wiped the minds of half of the audience who after being subjected subliminal messages were unable to remember anything that happened. For The Heist he took the notorious Milgram Experiment on the psychology of obedience one step further and convinced subjects to perpetrate a bank robbery. And on The System he revealed a formula to beat the bookies and guarantee that you back a winner at the race track.

2007 saw Derren's first US television show, Mind Control with Derren Brown. It was a six part series featuring a combination of new material shot in the US and segments from his UK shows. It was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. That same year saw a new UK series, Trick or Treat, in which Derren took members of the public on highly charged emotional and psychological journeys they would never forget. Some good, some bad. The unsuspecting volunteer's fate was decided by whether they chose the Trick or Treat card at the beginning of the show.

Each year Derren has toured the UK with a theatre show. Four entirely different shows have been produced to date in association with series collaborator and fellow magician Andy Nyman. Derren's second show, Something Wicked This Way Comes, won The Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Show of 2006. His latest show, Enigma, will tour again in 2010.

Derren Brown is a psychological illusionist. He weaves together psychology, magic, suggestion, misdirection and showmanship to create amazing experiences and seemingly impossible feats.

He was born in London in 1971 and attended the University of Bristol where he studied Law and German. It was while at Bristol that he took up an interest in magic and hypnotism. He worked as a close up magician for some years before concentrating on the more psychological aspects of deception. This new form of psychological illusion was debuted in 1999 on his first Channel 4 television special, Derren Brown: Mind Control. More specials and series followed making Derren one of Britain's best known television performers.

He was once an evangelical Christian but is now an atheist. He does not believe that psychics can contact the dead, read fortunes or predict the future. Having been the proud owner of a parrot called Figaro, Derren is a patron of the National Parrot Sanctuary.

He has written two books on the art of magic for magicians, Pure Effect and Absolute Magic. A third book, Tricks of the Mind, was published for the general public. It gives an insight into Derren's work, the structure and psychology of magic, the power of suggestion, tricks of memory and reveals why many of us mistakenly believe that psychics have special powers.

Other interests include collecting taxidermy, his London flat is home to many exotic examples, and painting. Derren is an accomplished painter and keen caricaturist. Some examples of his work can be seen in his recently published book Portraits.