On Sunday, August 16 from 9pm Channel 4 is airing a night celebrating the work of Derren Brown. 20 YEARS OF MIND CONTROL: LIVE will look back at some of his most jaw-dropping moments and feature new bits too. 

Derren explains how he ended up making shows for Channel 4, revealing how he used hypnosis and the power of suggestion to baffle the British public before opening up about his most controversial, headline-grabbing moments, including playing Russian Roulette, sticking viewers to their sofas, and the zombie-fuelled Apocalypse.

The multi award-winning trickster will introduce his favourite flashbacks and talk candidly about his career, giving a rare glimpse into the thinking and techniques that he’s pioneered across two decades. The evening’s climax will see Derren recreate his favourite ever trick live from a secret location.

We’ll also hear from some of Derren’s best known celebrity fans including Claire Danes, Martin Freeman, JJ Abrams and Stephen Merchant as they pay tribute to the audacious illusionist.

Immediately after the show, Derren will introduce the nation’s favourite Derren Brown special, as voted by viewers in the weeks prior to transmission.

Read an interview with Derren Brown below. 

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since you first appeared on Channel 4. How did it feel stepping in front of the camera for the first time?

I don’t remember the filming feeling weird, but it took some time to get used to seeing myself on screen. I’ve learnt a lot about what’s involved in filming: I was always ill-prepared, forgetting props and feeling out of my depth. I just did what I was told but had no idea what was going on.

What was your initial reaction when you were asked if you’d like to celebrate 20 years on C4 with a special night?

Very flattered, followed by creeping existential angst.

What can we expect to see on the night?

An older balder version of that goateed minx. I’m going to do a live ‘thing’, and there’s a lot of clips and me talking about myself. And surprises. I like them.

Can you give us the tiniest hint as to what we can expect from the live stunt?

It’s live, and it’s a stunt.

The night will be a real walk down memory lane for you. What do you hope viewers will take away from it?

Probably, and most disconcertingly, vague memories of things they saw in their childhood. I remember the first time I heard ‘I used to watch you growing up’, and it still sounds odd. So, for many it’ll be nostalgic - it certainly was for me. Although I tend to cringe at anything I’ve done or said more than 10 minutes ago, there’s some stuff in there though that I am proud of. It was lovely going back through it all.

Social media wasn’t a thing when you first appeared on Channel 4, in fact Twitter wasn’t founded until 2006. Has social media changed how you approach your work at all? And do you enjoy the interaction it brings?

Yes, I think if you’re in any branch of the magic business, there’s a wisdom of crowds problem that is likely to have people work things out if they can read each other’s YouTube comments and discuss on social media. It’s like finishing a show and then turning the lights up and having the audience discuss how they think it was done. So, I swear the audience to secrecy with the stage shows which protects the surprises and helps preserve the mysteries. Then with the TV stunts, if I’m trying to preserve a huge fiction for someone, it’s a problem too. In Apocalypse we needed the world for someone, had him believe there would be a meteor strike which is a tough thing to do in a world busting with Twitter and so on. So, we used it - fake news (before fake news), fake accounts, fake sites and fake versions of TV shows he was watching. That was a fun thing. And it’s easy getting people to apply - I can just send out a tweet. All that sort of thing has been streamlined by reaching people directly.

Of the five specials shortlisted to be shown again (Russian Roulette, The Heist, Hero at 30,000ft, Apocalypse and Pushed to the Edge), where would your vote go?

Apocalypse, probably. It was so huge and ambitious, so emotional for us all to go through. But I’m so fond of all of them, as they conjure up very intense and moving memories.

What would you say has been the most challenging programme to make across the years? Were there any where you came close to throwing in the towel?

Apocalypse: it was enormous. For example, there is one tiny, but no one will remember thing when we made his TV go off due, supposedly, to electrical interference caused by a meteor shower. To do that, a guy had to hide in his shed and pull a plug. A second guy was there for safety. But then they couldn’t leave the shed as they’d be seen, so they had to spend the night in our guy’s shed. All that after 3 months of no days off as everyone was so overstretched. It was massive and mad. But an extraordinary thing. And we rewrote the second half of the show at 3am after the first day, when we realised that we needed to lose one of the characters to help Steven, our mark, grow and step up. So, we changed the plot and introduced a wife who would return and take him away, infecting him in the process, and then had to feed that plot change to the actors through their ear-pieces. That’s a big ask for everyone. But no, never wanted to give up.

Do you prefer being on television or being on stage? 

Stage, generally, but there’s nothing like sitting in a dark room watching someone go through one of these hidden camera things, it’s extraordinary. I write them now so that I know the actual shoot at the end will feel really fun - for me at least.

We see you rehearsing the nail in the cup stunt during the programme and needless to say, it goes slightly, and painfully, wrong. Do you bear a scar from the incident?

Yes, it’s only small, but I have a teeny white smooth bump. Very disappointing.

You mentioned in the show that you’ve changed how you’ve referred to yourself over the years, first calling yourself a ‘psychological illusionist’ to a journalist. How do you think you would describe yourself now?

I’ve always preferred to avoid labels, as it means I can just move into whatever interests me. So, I don’t know. Technically the ‘magic’ performing side of what I do makes me a ‘mentalist’, but that feels like only a third of what I do now.

Your home is a veritable – and beautiful – treasure trove. How organised are you? Do you know where everything is?

Kind of. I had a cleaner once who rearranged thousands of my books by size (rather than by subject, as they were, because they didn’t look ‘as clean’). Aside from that day, I’m fairly good, but I try to avoid carrying keys and so on because I’d leave them everywhere. I’m very absent-minded, which I like to think is endearing, though others clearly disagree.

Was being slapped by Glenn Close as satisfying as it looked?

It was very strange. Slapping her was stranger - after we filmed the piece that necessitated her slapping me, we slapped each other for the camera. I was treated to a flash of Glenn Close rage which I won’t forget.

How do you feel having to constantly answer questions around fakery?

I don’t so much anymore. I try to make what I do less about how I’m doing it, and more making a point about something else. And the TV stuff has been very honest and straightforward for a long time. Occasionally people still say the unwitting participants are actors and so on, which can be hurtful for this people who have taken part in something life-changing and can feel a little vulnerable when it then airs to the world. So, we carefully help them with the whole social media and public response thing. Personally, I do whatever I can to keep away from people’s opinions about what I do, unless they’re completely positive, in which case I make an exception and am more than happy to listen.

The live entertainment industry has been massively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and I know you’ve had to postpone the UK tour of Showman. How do you think the industry will recover?

I have no idea. We relaunch Showman in February and hopefully it’ll be business sort-of as usual. Plenty of other productions wouldn’t be able to pick up where they left off, which is very tough for all those people involved. It’s such a vast employer, and affects so many people, quite aside from the impact on audiences. It’s a huge thing.

Behind The Mischief celebrated your ten years on Channel 4. What do you think will be in store for the 30th?

At the most, a guy with a camera trying to find me somewhere out in Tuscany where I’ll be writing and painting. I hope to have quietly dipped out of people’s awareness before the next decade is up. If not, I’ll at least be trying to do work that interests me and has continued to grow up and change with me.

What’s next for Derren Brown?

Showman, next February. A new book - a pockety, shorter version of Happy called A Little Happier: Notes for Reassurance which will be out in October. I’m also selling originals of my artwork for the first time now via my site, which is a new thing. And I’m entertaining a lockdown beard.

Watch a Derren Brown trailer below

Interview supplied by C4