Peter "Pete" Firman (born 26 April 1980) is an English magician, comedian and television presenter. He has appeared in magic shows on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, ITV,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

, and Sky1. He was also the presenter of two game shows on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

: ''Stake Out'' and ''Wait for It..!'', and one of the regular magicians on series 2 of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

show '' The Magicians''. Firman performs live in theatres and comedy clubs worldwide.

Early life

Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, Firman began his interest in magic as a child of eight when his mother bought him a magic book. He was educated at Acklam Grange Secondary School, where he twice won the school talent show. He then studied at Middlesbrough College then at the School of Arts & New Media unit of the University of Hull Scarborough Campus in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

where he gained a Bachelor of Arts in theatre. Firman performed his

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

in pubs and as he later explained: "anywhere I could get paid for doing tricks, basically. I figured I wanted somewhere a bit more regular to work, and I saw the comedy circuit as something I could explore. Because I'd always tried to make the magic I was doing funny and lighthearted, and I never took myself too seriously."

Career

Firman's first big break came in 2002 when he responded to an advert from

Objective Productions Objective Media Group (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions, is a media company that produces shows in comedy, comedy drama, entertainment, factual entertainment and Magic. It has produced shows including '' The Cube'', ''Breaking Ma ...

, who were searching for new magicians for a new television show, '' Monkey Magic''. Together with writer Paul Outhwaite and musician Andy Elvin, the three friends formed a short lived comedy team, " Threefellas" and made a short film of Firman doing tricks in the local area. He sent in a tape of himself in his underpants performing magic in Outhwaite's back garden and was chosen almost instantly. " Threefellas" made a few more short films before disbanding. In April 2003 the cast of ''Monkey Magic'' had their first meeting and Firman met fellow magician

Ali Cook Ali Cook (also credited as Alistair Cook) is an English magician, actor and comedian originating from Yorkshire. Cook played Sgt. Paul McMellon in the feature film ''Kajaki'', which won the ''Producer of The Year Award'' at the 2015 British I ...

with whom he later shared a flat for two and a half years. During this time they wrote routines for ''The Greatest Magic Tricks in the Universe... Ever'', the second series of ''Monkey Magic'' and ''The Secret World of Magic''. The first seven-part series of ''Monkey Magic'' was broadcast on Five in 2003 as well as a Christmas special. The show featured a team of four magicians each with their own unique style and personality. It was short listed for a

British Comedy Award The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards ( ...

and nominated for a

Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...

. A second series of ''Monkey Magic'' aired in 2004, which saw his first Mr Ball routine. Firman co-hosted ''The Greatest Magic Tricks in the Universe... Ever'' series on Five which saw a countdown of the most amazing tricks of all time from Horace Goldin's

sawing a woman in half Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a female assistant) is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces. History There remains a debate about the origin of sawing ill ...

illusion to

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

Vanishing the Statue of Liberty David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by ''Forbes'' as the most commercially successful magician in history.

illusion. In ''The Secret World of Magic'', which aired on Sky1 in 2005, Firman travelled the world with Ali Cook, interviewing the world's greatest magicians, including

Mac King Mac King (born December 2, 1959) is an American magician who has performed on television specials, often as a co-host. He has his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show", at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in the Thunderland Sh ...

Juan Tamariz Juan Tamariz-Martel Negrón (born 18 October 1942, Madrid) known professionally as Juan Tamariz or just Tamariz, is a Spanish magician. American stage magician Ricky Jay once said he considered Tamariz a magician people will remember. Tamari ...

and

Max Maven Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, a ...

, whilst also performing their own brand of sleight of hand on the streets of Paris,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, New York City, Los Angeles,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He also did a Mr Ball routine in ''The Secret World of Magic'' which was developed by him and Ali Cook. ''Dirty Tricks'' was a six-part series in 2005 on Channel 4, hosted by Firman along with Barry and Stuart. It was described as "like magic meets

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childho ...

" by critic Sam Wollaston of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. The show had regular spots from Ali Cook and Jonathan Goodwin as well as guest appearances from international variety acts and celebrities including

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo h ...

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, Mylene Klass and

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...

. The show was nominated for a Rose d'Or. Firman was a special guest on '' Don't Miss a Trick'', a one-off family show version of ''

The Real Hustle ''The Real Hustle'' is a BBC British television series created by Objective Productions, Alexis Conran and R. Paul Wilson for BBC Three. The show demonstrates confidence and magic tricks, distraction scams and proposition bets performed on ...

'', which first aired on 25 August 2008 on

. Pete Firman has hosted two game shows, ''Stake Out'' in 2008 and ''Wait For It..!'', in 2009. Both aired on

. In 2009 he appeared in "

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows f ...

Presents: 3D Magic Spectacular". '' The Magicians'' was a primetime Saturday night series for BBC1 that aired in 2012. It was the first magic show in 30 years to be broadcast live. Firman was one of the featured magicians, along with Barry and Stuart and Jason Latimer. In 2016 he appeared as a contestant in the first series of ITV's '' The Next Great Magician''.

Theatre

In 2007 Firman performed his debut solo show ''Hokum'' at the

Underbelly Underbelly is the side of something that is not normally seen. Figuratively, it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term Achilles' heel, or alternatively, a hidden, illicit side of society. This term could refer to: Business * ...

as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Since then he has performed each year at the festival, returning with a brand new show every time, most recently in 2018 with ''Marvels'' at the Pleasance Beyond. His shows have been critically acclaimed by the press and he has been described by ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' as "the new poster-boy for British comedy magic." He has toured the UK several times with his solo theatre shows. In July 2008 he was invited to perform in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Canada, as part of the '' Just for Laughs''

comedy festival A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of c ...

Author

In 2006, Firman wrote his first book, ''Tricks to Freak Out Your Friends'', in which he reveals secrets such as "how to crack your nose", "how to take a bite out of a glass" and "how to stick a barbecue skewer through your tongue". It also included simple card tricks and how to swallow knives. It has a foreword from

Television

*'' Monkey Magic'' (2003) *'' The Greatest Magic Tricks in the Universe... Ever'' (2003) *'' Monkey Magic 2'' (2004) *'' The Secret World of Magic'' (2005) *'' Dirty Tricks'' (2005) *'' Greatest Ever Comedy Movies'' (2006) *'' Greatest Ever Disaster Movies'' (2007) *'' Saturday LIVE Again'' (2007) *''

The Convention Crasher ''The Convention Crasher'' is the title of a documentary originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2007 on Channel 4. The one-off documentary followed Justin Lee Collins as he entered the world of celebrity lookalikes and attempt ...

'' (2007) *''

Comedy Cuts ''Comedy Cuts'' is a comedy programme on the British TV channel ITV2 that aims to provide an opportunity for new comedy performers to present their talents. Featuring 40 performers demonstrating a mix of stand up and sketches, the series is shot ...

'' (2008) *'' Don't Miss A Trick'' (2008) *'' For One Night Only'' (2008) *'' Stake Out'' (2008) *'' Derren Brown Presents: 3D Magic Spectacular'' (2009) *'' Wait For It..!'' (2009) *'' This Morning'' (2010) *'' Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford'' (2011) *'' Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live'' (2011) *'' E4 Comedy Summit'' (2011) *'' TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks'' (2011) *'' The Magicians'' (2012) *'' BBC Breakfast'' (2012) *''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' (2012) *'' Something For The Weekend'' (2012) *'' The Body Shocking Show'' (2013) *'' Celebrity Mastermind'' (2013) *'' Come Dine With Me - Comedians Special'' (2013) *'' The Sarah Millican Television Programme'' (2013) *'' Jon Richardson Grows Up'' (2014) *'' Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live'' (2014) *'' The John Bishop Show'' (2015) *'' The Magic Show Story'' (2015) *'' Now You See It'' (2015) *'' When Magic Tricks Go Horribly Wrong'' (2016) *'' The Next Great Magician'' (2016) *'' Weekend'' (2016) *'' BBC Breakfast'' (2016) *'' Tommy Cooper Forever'' (2017) *'' Let's Sing & Dance for Comic Relief'' (2017) *''

Tonight at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End theatre, West End. Originally produced by Associated Television, ATV for the ITV (TV network), ITV network ...

'' (2017) *'' Don't Unleash the Beast'' (2020)

Theatre

*2018/19 - Marvels - UK Tour *2018 - Marvels - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2016 - Trix - UK Tour *2016 - Trix - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2015 - Super Duper - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2014 - Trickster - UK Tour *2014 - Trickster - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2013 - Scoundrel - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2013 - Hoodwinker - UK Tour *2012 - Hoodwinker - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2012 - Jiggery Pokery - UK Tour *2011 - Jiggery Pokery - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2010 - Jokes & Tricks - UK Tour *2010 - Jokes & Tricks - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2009 - The Pete Firman Magic Show - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2008 - FlimFlam - UK Tour *2008 - FlimFlam - Edinburgh Fringe Festival *2007 - Hokum - Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Bibliography

*'' Tricks to Freak Out Your Friends'' (2006)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Firman, Pete English magicians 1980 births Living people People from Middlesbrough Alumni of the University of Hull