Legendary magician and entertainer Paul Daniels has revealed that he has been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. The news was delivered in a statement by his family, that was posted on the performer’s official website. "We can confirm that one of our greatest magicians and entertainers of all times, Paul Daniels, has sadly been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. One behalf of Paul, Debbie and their families, we thank you for your kind concerns and support at this sad time and ask that their privacy continues to be respected."
© Photo: Getty ImagesPaul Daniels has been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour
Paul’s former assistant and wife of 28-years took to her Twitter page to express her devastation at the news. "With great sadness," wrote the trained ballet dancer alongside a link to her husband’s website that announced the sad news.Seventy-seven-year-old Paul, whose real name is Newton Edward Daniels, first found fame on a Sunday evening ITV show, before going on to star in The Paul Daniels Magic Show on BBC, which ran between 1979 – 1994, with Debbie acting as his magician’s assistant.Speaking to the Guardian about his inspiration to become a magician, Paul said: "A hot, wet childhood holiday got me into magic. We couldn’t go out because of the bad weather one of the books in the place we were staying in had magic tricks in it that you could do yourself.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPaul was voted 'Magician of the Year' in 1983
"I was very shy but found out I could go into school and do some tricks. The fact that people didn’t know how the hell I was doing it made me continue doing it. "The success of his TV shows and his live performances led to Paul being named ‘Magician of the Year 1983’ by the Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts in Los Angeles. He went on to star in West End theatre shows in Las Vegas and on Broadway.More recently the veteran star took part in BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, and presented the shows Wipeout and Odd One Out.
