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Magic man Derren is back
You have to feel sorry for Derren Brown, writes Jonathan Donald.

Last week a certain tabloid had him revealing how he's been in a homosexual relationship for a year.

What does his sexuality have to do with his standing as one of the finest illusionists this country has produced? Those bigoted enough to be put off the fella should watch his latest six-part Trick Or Treat series on Channel 4. His exploits are astounding.

Six people have been mustered for the series after being recruited through adverts.

First up is 40-year-old aviation insurance specialist Glen, whose free time is dedicated to his family and his love of football.

Like the other recruits, he's been selected to be in the series but doesn't know it yet. Wicked Derren and his team secretly film the volunteers before introducing themselves.

Glen finally meets the self-styled man of mystery believing he's bound for a medical examination.

After a scary ride in an elevator, Derren reveals himself and gives him the option of a trick or a treat.

Glen plumps for a treat, only to learn he's been entered into the ultimate pub quiz, the 2008 Night Of Champions. The illusionist proceeds to reveal to him how to cram massive amounts of information into his mind.

After a week of scanning books, absorbing millions of words and images, Glen enters the competition single-handedly facing teams of up to six quiz veterans.

As magic shows go, it's a long way from the days of flamboyant chaps sawing up their assistants.

Yet the results are far more intriguing. Future subjects include Doctor Who star David Tennant.
Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat, Fri, 10pm

queen of clubs wrote:I absolutely loved his reference to his sexuality. Very funny indeed! I'm looking forward to next week.

Midsomer Murders Sunday 27 July, 9pm, ITV1
The Magician's Nephew

Jean Wildacre, a grandmother and magician’s assistant, drops dead during a stage show, poisoned by a deadly tropical frog.

Barnaby and Jones investigate the secretive world of Midsomer’s Magic Circle - a group of friends who once formed a cult together.

Ernest Balliol (Ronald Pickup) and his family are still obsessed with black magic but fellow villager Aloysius Wilmington has caused upset by exposing their rituals as fakes.

But why would someone want to murder Jean?

Alan Davies is set to return as Jonathan Creek for a one-off special written by David Renwick, due for transmission later this year on BBC One.

The popular, award-winning comedy drama about the adventures of Jonathan Creek, the master of illusion who uses his brilliance and intellect to explain the unexplainable, begins filming this summer with guest star Sheridan Smith (Love Soup; Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps).

Stuart Milligan returns as illusionist Adam Klaus, Creek's employer.

Alan Davies says: "For the last five years whenever I've passed a locked room I've thought there might be a mystery lurking behind it, so I'm very happy to return to Jonathan Creek and to have something to actually solve.

"I'm also chuffed that Sheridan Smith is joining us, she's going to be great."

Writer David Renwick adds: "After a five-year break I think we're all looking forward to getting Creek back on the screen and the BBC appear to be quite excited, so fingers crossed."

When Creek is called in to solve unexplained events in a vast Gothic house, following several disappearances inside a gloomy old attic known as "The Nightmare Room", he is completely baffled.

For 70 years the room has been claiming lives. Could the ghost of a madman who preys upon human flesh really be to blame?

When two young women take shelter there from a raging thunderstorm one night, it's not long before the ominous "presence" has claimed another victim.

Determined to get to the truth about what has happened to her friend, the fearlessly sceptical Joey Ross (Sheridan Smith) finds herself working alongside veteran lateral thinker Jonathan Creek. Together they embark on a complex, often dangerous, investigation into a mystery which only continues to deepen...

Can Jonathan Creek once again shed light on the riddle and render the impossible possible? Or are his once formidable powers of deduction about to be eclipsed by the raw intuition of his younger counterpart?

Lucy Lumsden, Controller, Comedy Commissioning, says: "We're delighted to have Jonathan Creek back on BBC One and with the addition of Sheridan Smith we should be in for a real treat."

Written by David Renwick (One Foot In The Grave; Love Soup), Jonathan Creek is produced by Nerys Evans (Jam & Jerusalem). The executive producer is Peter Thornton (Jam & Jerusalem;The Smoking Room).

Jonathan Creek is a BBC Comedy production for BBC One, commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.

James Randi has been a stage magician and escape artist for more than 60 years, so he knows just how easy it is to fool people. And for that reason he's long been a thorn in the side of many psychics, fortune-tellers and ghost-hunters, proving their claims to be either self-delusion or trickery.

Thirty years ago, James put up a $1 million reward to anyone who could prove the existence of anything supernatural or paranormal. The money is still safely in the bank, but in this week's episode of Extraordinary People, one man sets out to claim the cash.

Step forward 42-year-old psychic Derek Ogilvie, known as the baby mind-reader. Derek claims he can read the minds of infants too young to speak for themselves. When he had his own TV series a couple of years ago, dozens of stressed-out mums were amazed and overjoyed at his seemingly miraculous ability to find out what was going on inside their babies' heads.

'I open up to the child and allow information to freely come from them. It might be an image, a picture or a little movie,' says Derek, who first discovered his psychic gift it the age of nine, when he says his dead neighbour came to visit him. But can he prove his psychic abilities?

The programme shows him undergoing a series of scientific tests in London ­with disappointing results. The testers believe Derek is doing what's called 'cold reading' - firing questions at the child's mother and picking up clues from her responses or body language. When the mum isn't present, Derek's powers seem less impressive.

Upset but undeterred, Derek decides to take on Randi's million dollar challenge. And, successful or not, there's a big surprise...