10 Things You Didn't Know About Derren Brown

Like, what does he do when he's not blowing minds?

Gird your loins, let go of all expectations and prepare to stay away from social media lest a bunch of party poopers spoil the fun for you - Derren Brown returns to our screens tonight with Infamous, the televised version of his Bafta-winning, sell-out stage show! Details of what exactly happens in the special have mercifully been kept under wraps by understanding journos and punters alike since Brown toured the show earlier in the year, but we can expect more of the psychological, scientific mind mongering that we've come to know and love in the performer. There probably won't be any zombies in this one but, y'know, the guy needs to mix things up every once in a while. It's that mystery that makes Derren Brown work. Literally, in that he often requires you know nothing going in for his tricks to work, and the things he manages to pull off are all the more impressive when you have zero expectations. And figuratively, because the surprise twist he introduces in each of his TV shows and live tours is what keeps people coming back, desperate to discover what he's got up his sleeve this time. And the only way to find out is by watching it at the same time as everyone else, which is pretty unique in this day and age. Still, that air of secrecy that surrounds Brown often expands to areas you wouldn't expect, or which don't really have a lot to do with his shows. Or else, the secrecy he casts over his shows distracts from every other part of his life, since everybody's busy obsessing over every little detail of his tricks instead of, say, his personal life. Another canny bit of misdirection by the master. We managed to avert our gaze from the Infamous trailers just long enough to look into some of those mysteries, and in doing so we discovered ten things you didn't know about Derren Brown.
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Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/