Derren was born in 1971 in Croydon. It was a difficult birth ~ hi
mother was in Devon at the time. A precocious and puzzling only
child, he liked to paint, foster obsessive habits and once set fire toa
neighbour's boat by accident. Derren went on to study law and
German at Bristol University and fell in love with the city. This was
a time where marriage between man and city was still frowned
‘upon, so rather than face public derision, Derren decided just to live
there forever instead. During this time he began to perform magic
in bars and restaurants, and gave occasional hypnosis shows. Then
in 1999 he was asked by Channel 4 to put a mind-reading pro-
‘gramme together for television, which became Derren Brown: Mind
Control. It was an immediate success and gained Derren a cool
underground kudos which he described as ‘not enough’,
Mind Controls 2 and 3 followed and then, in October 2003,
Derren caused an international furore by playing Russian Roulette
live on television. This secured notoriety with the public and a big
apartment in London. ‘Bristol can shove itself he said. Further spe-
Is have followed including Derren Brown: The Séance which was
the most complained about show in the history of television. He still
receives several letters of complaint a week from psychics and
Christians. He is sensitive to everyone's objections but knows at
least the latter group will forgive him,
Derren’s workload keeps him exhausted and irritable fifty-two
weeks a year and he continues to live in London with a large cok
lection of taxidermy and a fatalistic parrot. He spends any free
weekends painting and likes to receive gifts.
=aaas)TRICKS OF
THE MIND
DERREN BROV VN