Debbie McGee | |
|---|---|
 McGee atWicked 10th Birthday 2016 | |
| Born | Debra Ann McGee (1958-10-31)31 October 1958 (age 66) Surrey, England |
| Occupation(s) | Radio presenter andmagician's assistant |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | |
| Website | www |
Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as theassistant and widow of magicianPaul Daniels. McGee is a formerballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her own ballet company. She presents a Sunday morning show forBBC Radio Berkshire. McGee was a finalist in BBC's2017Strictly Come Dancing and a winner of the 2019 Christmas Special, and has been a recurring member of theLoose Women panel.
McGee was born in 1958[1] inKingston upon Thames, to Patrick McGee and Lillian Howes. She has two younger siblings, a sister called Donna and a brother named Robert.[2] When McGee was young her parents ran acorner shop. Later, her father worked for a large manufacturing firm making gold rings and other jewellery.[3]
McGee attended Our Lady Immaculate RC Primary School inTolworth, followed byTolworth Girls' School, a secondary school also in Tolworth. At the age of 16 McGee auditioned for and won a place at theRoyal Ballet School. After graduating, she joined theIranian National Ballet Company inTehran. 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 theIranian Revolution. She was forced to flee the country and returned to the UK with little in the way of money and possessions. Seeking new work she auditioned for theBernard Delfont Organisation, which was responsible for a number of big summer resort shows and touring productions.[4][5][6]
Delfont found her a job performing on stage with magician Paul Daniels in his 1979 summer show at the Britannia Pier Theatre inGreat Yarmouth. She met Daniels on 23 May 1979 at rehearsals for the show, which were held at a church hall in London.[3][6][7]
She later joinedDougie Squires'sSecond Generation troupe as a dancer, which involved touring Europe with acts includingChris de Burgh andJames Last. After winter work in pantomime, McGee joined Daniels again for his 1980 summer season inBournemouth. She then performed in his London stage showIt's Magic, which opened on 10 December 1980 and which, by the time it closed 14 months later, had become the longest running magic show ever to play in the West End.[4][unreliable source?]
McGee achieved national and international fame through television appearances with Daniels. After seeing her on stage in the West End,BBC producer John Fisher asked Debbie to appear in theBBC1 seriesThe Paul Daniels Magic Show, which had begun in 1979. That series continued until 1994 and regularly attracted audiences of 15 million in the UK and was sold to 43 countries.[8] Daniels regularly referred to McGee on his TV shows as "The lovely Debbie McGee", a phrase that entered popular culture as a stereotype formagicians' assistants.[9] Daniels and McGee were married inBuckinghamshire[10] in April 1988.[6][11]
In October 1991, McGee was one of the first female magicians to become a member ofThe Magic Circle, a society for British professional magicians. She celebrated by appearing on TV to perform a trick accompanied by Daniels as her assistant "The Lovely Paul", who was not allowed to speak during the performance.[12][13]
McGee was the 2017 winner of the Magic Circle'sMaskelyne award "for services to British Magic", the same award that her husband received in 1988.[14]
She has been a recurring member of theLoose Women panel.[15]
McGee's pastimes include golf and she has played in celebrity charity events.[3]
In January 2019, McGee announced that she had overcome the early stages ofbreast cancer in 2018; after a small surgical procedure she had been given the all-clear.[16]
In 2000, McGee and Daniels set upBallet Imaginaire to produce ballet shows and tour them around the country. The enterprise was never intended to be financially successful (as acknowledged inWhen Louis Met...) but in the three years it was active it did achieve its stated objective of allowing Debbie to fulfil a lifelong dream of producing ballet and achieving recognition as a dancer.[6]
In 2004 McGee presentedBox Jumpers, a two-part radio documentary about magician's assistants forBBC Radio 4.[9][17] She works as a presenter forBBC Radio Berkshire, where, since 8 June 2008, she has hosted a regular Sunday morning show from 9 am to noon.[18]
On 12 June 2018, McGee was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 programmeMy Teenage Diaries.[19]
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In 2001, McGee and Daniels were the subjects of an episode ofWhen Louis Met..., a documentary filmed byLouis Theroux. The episode, titledWhen Louis Met... Paul and Debbie, was broadcast onBBC Two and subsequentlyNetflix.[20]
In 2001, McGee appeared in the documentaryPaul Daniels in a Black Hole, which challenged Daniels to be recognised as a famed magician in the United States within one week.[citation needed]
McGee appeared on comedianCaroline Aherne's talk showThe Mrs Merton Show in 1995;[21] Aherne's character Mrs Merton asked McGee "what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?",[22] a joke which a poll later ranked as Britain's second-bestone-liner.[22] The couple later joked about the quip, with Daniels saying "when Debbie and I got married, I certainly wasn't a millionaire and the other funny thing was Caroline had just married a millionaire so we thought that was hysterical".[23] Calling the continuing popularity of the joke "lovely", McGee credits the appearance onMrs Merton for kickstarting her own fame, saying "after Mrs Merton people started to really recognise me. It gave us great publicity."[24]
In October 2004, McGee and her husband appeared onThe Farm,Five's version of theRTÉ showCelebrity Farm. In May 2006, she appeared onThe X Factor: Battle of the Stars with her husband singing "Let Me Entertain You" byRobbie Williams. Debbie and Paul were knocked out in the first round of the talent show.
On 1 April 2007, McGee appeared along with her husband,Vanessa Feltz, and her then-fiancé Ben Ofoedu in a celebrity edition ofChannel 4's hitreality television showWife Swap. In 2008 McGee appeared onAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. On 14 September 2010, McGee appeared on the celebrity version ofCome Dine with Me.
In 2012, McGee made a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of the UK TV comedy dramaStella.
In 2017, McGee appeared alongsideNigel Havers,Simon Callow andLorraine Chase inBarging Loving Celebs.
She took part inCelebrity MasterChef in 2017. In August 2017, it was announced that McGee would be appearing as a contestant on thefifteenth series ofStrictly Come Dancing where her professional dance partner wasGiovanni Pernice. The couple reached the final but were beaten byJoe McFadden andKatya Jones.[25]
In November 2017 she appeared alongsideChesney Hawkes inCelebrity Antiques Road Trip.[26]
In December 2019, McGee appeared in the quiz showTenable All Stars for a Christmas special.[27]
McGee worked alongside her husband in venues around the world. Also, according to the biography on her personal website, she was writing a book. A cookery and party book written by McGee has appeared on WH Smith and Amazon websites calledDine with Debbie, although it is no longer in print.[5] In 2005 she became the brand ambassador for "Good Boy" chocolates.[28]
In 2006, McGee and friend Sue Simons created modelling and casting agency Debbie McGee Models.[29]
In February 2009, McGee and Daniels appeared inCloser magazine in a picture recreating an image from anArmani advert that featured footballerDavid Beckham and his wifeVictoria.[30][31]Later in the summer of that year, she appeared in a fringe theatre show in London calledFrank's Closet.[32]
On 21 August 2013, McGee took part in theDead Air Podcast, a show hosted by Nick Lee and Rob Oldfield.[33]
From 9 December 2016 to 1 January 2017, McGee starred in the pantomimeAladdin as Slave of the Ring at theGrand Opera House, York.[34]
She is known for her work with dogs.[35][36]