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Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former
ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...
and for three years was artistic director of her own ballet company. She presents a Sunday morning show for
BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...
. McGee was a finalist in BBC's 2017 ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and a winner of the 2019 Christmas Special, and has been a recurring member of the ''
Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...
'' panel.


Early life and magic career

McGee was born in 1958 in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
, to Patrick McGee and Lillian Howes. She has two younger siblings, a sister called Donna and a brother named Robert.Index to the Register of Births for England and Wales, Oct–Dec 1958, District=Surrey N., Volume=5g, page=380 When McGee was young her parents ran a
corner shop A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
. Later, her father worked for a large manufacturing firm making gold rings and other jewellery. McGee attended Our Lady Immaculate RC Primary School in
Tolworth Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Berrylands, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Lo ...
, followed by Tolworth Girls' School, a secondary school also in Tolworth. At the age of 16 McGee auditioned for and won a place at the
Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...
. After graduating, she joined the Iranian National Ballet Company in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
. 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 the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
. 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 the
Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...
Organisation, which was responsible for a number of big summer resort shows and touring productions. Delfont found her a job performing on stage with magician Paul Daniels in his 1979 summer show at the Britannia Pier Theatre in
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
. She met Daniels on 23 May 1979 at rehearsals for the show, which were held at a church hall in London. She later joined
Dougie Squires Douglas William Squires (16 February 1932 – 21 May 2023) was an English choreographer, known best for his work in television from the mid-1950s. He was born in Nottingham. Squires died on 21 May 2023, at the age of 91. Choreography The group ...
's ''Second Generation'' troupe as a dancer, which involved touring Europe with acts including
Chris de Burgh Christopher John Davison (born 15 October 1948), known professionally as Chris de Burgh ( ), is a British-Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He started out as an art rock performer but subsequently started writing more pop-oriented material ...
and
James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015) was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist, his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and ...
. After winter work in pantomime, McGee joined Daniels again for his 1980 summer season in
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
. She then performed in his London stage show ''It'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. McGee achieved national and international fame through television appearances with Daniels. After seeing her on stage in the West End,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
producer John Fisher asked Debbie to appear in the
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
series '' The 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. Daniels regularly referred to McGee on his TV shows as "The lovely Debbie McGee", a phrase that entered popular culture as a stereotype for magicians' assistants. Daniels and McGee were married in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
in April 1988. In October 1991, McGee was one of the first female magicians to become a member of The 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. McGee was the 2017 winner of the Magic Circle's Maskelyne award "for services to British Magic", the same award that her husband received in 1988. She has been a recurring member of the ''
Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...
'' panel.


Personal life

McGee's pastimes include golf and she has played in celebrity charity events. In January 2019, McGee announced that she had overcome the early stages of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
in 2018; after a small surgical procedure she had been given the all-clear.


Other work


Dance company

In 2000, McGee and Daniels set up ''Ballet Imaginaire'' to produce ballet shows and tour them around the country. The enterprise was never intended to be financially successful (as acknowledged in '' When 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''.


Radio

In 2004 McGee presented ''Box Jumpers'', a two-part radio documentary about magician's assistants for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. She works as a presenter for
BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...
, where, since 8 June 2008, she has hosted a regular Sunday morning show from 9 am to noon. On 12 June 2018, McGee was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''My Teenage Diaries''.


Television and film

In 2001, McGee and Daniels were the subjects of an episode of '' When Louis Met...'', a documentary filmed by
Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British and American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduati ...
. The episode, titled ''When Louis Met... Paul and Debbie'', was broadcast on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
and subsequently
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. In 2001, McGee appeared in the documentary ''Paul Daniels in a Black Hole'', which challenged Daniels to be recognised as a famed magician in the United States within one week. McGee appeared on comedian
Caroline Aherne Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian, writer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host '' Mrs Merton'', in various roles in '' The Fast Show'', and as Denise ...
's talk show '' The Mrs Merton Show'' in 1995; Aherne's character Mrs Merton asked McGee "what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?", a joke which a poll later ranked as Britain's second-best one-liner. 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". Calling the continuing popularity of the joke "lovely", McGee credits the appearance on ''Mrs Merton'' for kickstarting her own fame, saying "after Mrs Merton people started to really recognise me. It gave us great publicity." In October 2004, McGee and her husband appeared on '' The Farm'', Five's version of the
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
show '' Celebrity Farm''. In May 2006, she appeared on '' The X Factor: Battle of the Stars'' with her husband singing " Let Me Entertain You" by
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
. 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 Vanessa Jane Feltz (born 21 February 1962) is an English television presenter, broadcaster, and journalist. She has hosted numerous versions of her own chat shows and appeared on various television shows, including ''Vanessa'' (1994–1998, 202 ...
, and her then-fiancé Ben Ofoedu in a celebrity edition of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's hit
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
show '' Wife Swap''. In 2008 McGee appeared on ''
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'', ''Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), ...
''. On 14 September 2010, McGee appeared on the celebrity version of ''
Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...
''. In 2012, McGee made a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of the UK TV comedy drama '' Stella''. In 2017, McGee appeared alongside
Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielb ...
,
Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...
and
Lorraine Chase Lorraine Chase (born 16 July 1951) is an English actress and former model. She became well known for her strong south east London accent and frequent use of cockney slang, and found fame through a series of television adverts for Campari bef ...
in ''Barging Loving Celebs''. She took part in '' Celebrity MasterChef'' in 2017. In August 2017, it was announced that McGee would be appearing as a contestant on the fifteenth series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
'' where her professional dance partner was
Giovanni Pernice Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012 ...
. The couple reached the final but were beaten by Joe McFadden and
Katya Jones Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; ; 12 May 1989) is a Russians, Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which she won in 2017 with her ...
. In November 2017 she appeared alongside
Chesney Hawkes Chesney Lee Hawkes (born 22 September 1971) is an English singer and occasional actor. He started his career at the age of 19 when he appeared in the film '' Buddy's Song'', which featured his best-known single " The One and Only", which topped ...
in ''
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip ''Antiques Road Trip'' (also known as ''Celebrity Antiques Road Trip'') is a BBC television series produced by STV Studios. It was first shown on BBC Two from 2010 to 2012, and has been shown on BBC One since 2013. Format Regular In the progr ...
''. In December 2019, McGee appeared in the quiz show '' Tenable All Stars'' for a Christmas special.


Other activities

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 called ''Dine with Debbie'', although it is no longer in print. In 2005 she became the brand ambassador for "Good Boy" chocolates. In 2006, McGee and friend Sue Simons created modelling and casting agency Debbie McGee Models. In February 2009, McGee and Daniels appeared in '' Closer'' magazine in a picture recreating an image from an
Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
advert that featured footballer
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
and his wife Victoria. Later in the summer of that year, she appeared in a fringe theatre show in London called ''Frank's Closet''. On 21 August 2013, McGee took part in the ''Dead Air Podcast'', a show hosted by Nick Lee and Rob Oldfield. From 9 December 2016 to 1 January 2017, McGee starred in the pantomime ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
'' as Slave of the Ring at the
Grand Opera House, York The Grand Opera House is a Theater (structure), theatre on the corner of Clifford Street (York), Clifford Street and Cumberland Street in York, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which hosts touring productions of Play (theatre), plays, mu ...
. She is known for her work with dogs.


References


External links

* * *
''The Debbie McGee Show''
(BBC Radio Berkshire) * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Debbie 1958 births Living people People educated at the Royal Ballet School People educated at Tolworth Girls' School People from Wargrave English magicians English radio presenters English television presenters People from Kingston upon Thames The X Factor (British TV series) contestants