Derren Brown fans call show dedicated to father who died in pandemic ‘absolutely beautiful’

Illusionist discussed ‘guilt’ over not being able to give father ‘proper send-off’

Derren Brown fans have called the illusionist’s latest show “absolutely beautiful” after he dedicated it to his late father.

Showman, which premiered on stage last year and was screened on Channel 4 on Sunday night (23 April), saw Brown, 52, tell numerous anecdotes about his father, who died at the height of the Covid pandemic.

Brown said he felt “guilty” for the fact that he could not give his father a “proper send-off”.

Talking about sentimental items he had found around his father’s house, he said: “It was the weirdest thing because they just suddenly looked like tat, they just looked like stuff you’d find in the back of a junk shop.

“It was like they had no meaning at all, and yet they were so meaningful, they sort of became more and less significant than they had been before. It really struck me that the right sort of object has the power to remind us what is truly important to us.”

Reflecting on his relationship with his father, he said: “I’ve said that my dad and I didn’t always connect when I was younger and then, of course, he died and that was that.

“It really struck me, this very clear thought of… oh, well then. That was the relationship. It wasn’t that we didn’t connect, it was just that we connected like that, in a slightly hit-and-miss way, as fathers and sons do, and that was OK. I’d spent a lot of my life thinking it was supposed to be better and different.”

He continued: “If you’re gonna lose a dad, losing a dad during a global pandemic means two things. First of all, he has to die on his own. I couldn’t be with him, mum couldn’t be there holding his hand and talking to him, he just had to sort of die, probably wondering where we all were.

“And secondly, you don’t get to have a funeral. Unless you choose for it to just be the four of you, sat two metres apart with no touching. Which is a shame.

“Dad always said half-jokingly that he’d have loved a gospel choir and loads of people, a big list of things for a fun funeral and we just couldn’t do any of those things and no funeral means you’ve got no way of finding closure for the guilt you feel for leaving him on his own, or a way of giving him his proper big send-off.

“So you look for another way if you can… like writing a show.”

Derren Brown (Getty Images)

He ended the show by bringing out a gospel choir to sing “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra.

Brown also displayed a picture of his late father on the screen behind him, on which the words “For Bob Brown, 1939-2020” appeared.

Viewers were very moved by the scenes. “Well having Derren Brown: Showman playing casually in the background did me the world of good,” one tweeted. “Lost my dad February and now bawling my eyeballs out at all the dad mentions.”

“What an absolutely beautiful tribute to his dad,” another added. “I’m crying my eyes out and in full adoration of Derren Brown.”

A third wrote: “This Covid stuff is so sad. Poor Derren Brown, losing his dad during the pandemic.”

“Derren Brown’s Showman show was very bittersweet,” said a fourth. “Mystifying and mind bending, of course, but including routines dedicated to his recently deceased father, which I thought were very touching and quite tender. Derren will never stop being my favourite!”

A fifth posted: “Derren Brown talking about losing his dad during Covid has tipped me over the edge! My dad died in a care home alone, funeral was minimal and it still hurts big time.”

Derren Brown: Showman is available to stream on All4. Read the fascinating things we learnt from his Desert Island Discs here.