Derren Brown is one of the most popular performers in modern television, a sure fire ratings smash whose shows always draw in millions of viewers for both Channel 4 and the theatres he performers in around the country. That's not to suggest that he's universally beloved, however. After each of his new, thrilling tricks there are hundreds of hardened cynics queueing round the corner to debunk them, or else decry them as not particularly impressive, as if they could conjure up anything better as they sit on their sofa eating a takeaway on a Saturday night. Some of Brown's fiercest critics go a step further from ruining their friends' enjoyment or else yelling at the TV, however, as his broadcasts have racked up an impressive number of official complaints over the years. Despite warnings that viewers who objected for "religious reasons or otherwise" to stop watching the show, his 2004 special Seance registered some seven hundred complaints to Channel 4, mostly before the episode was even aired. There was the aforementioned condemnation by British police over the Russian roulette stunt - and, really, you can't buy publicity like that - whilst an episode of Derren Brown Investigates was criticised for not being fair to its "psychic" subject (Ofcom ruled in Brown's favour). Perhaps unsurprising, sure, but the weirdest complaint to be investigated after a Brown show was when he said that the bonus ball was "for women and gays" during The Events episode where he attempted to predict that night's winning lottery numbers.
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/
