What's on: Pete Firman, Blackburn, February 24 (From Lancashire Telegraph)

What's on: Pete Firman, Blackburn, February 24

3:07pm Friday 6th January 2012 in Stage: What's on

AMARKED card is slid into a pack, which is then shuffled and cut.

With a flourish, magician Pete Firman removes the top card, the four of spades, and asks: "Was this your card?"

Unfortunately it wasn’t. “Oh damn,” he says, crestfallen. “Let me try something else.”

Dressed in a tweed suit and skinny tie, delivering showman’s patter with a Middlesbrough accent, the 31-year-old is charming even when seemingly incompetent.

But magic is all about illusion and trickery.

Suddenly, a sealed envelope is produced from his wallet and inside, to my astonishment, is the marked card.

“I really get a kick out of seeing that amazed, astonished reaction from people,” says Firman.

Welcome to the new breed of magicians — young, trendy and not afraid to break the rules.

Firman is just one of the new faces appearing in the second series of The Magicians, last year’s Saturday night hit for BBC One which drew more than six million viewers, which returns to our screens tomorrow night.

The show has undergone something of a revamp, including a brand new host, relative newcomer Darren McMullen, taking over from Lenny Henry.

It marks the 29-year-old Scotsman’s first prime-time show in the UK and he’s excited by the challenge, saying: “It’s going to be bigger, badder, crazier than anybody could ever imagine.”

The Magicians is about so much more than card tricks.

Comedian and magician Firman will join American illusionist Jason Latimer and the only familiar faces from the last series, Scottish duo Barry and Stuart.

All under the age of 35, the group represent the different elements of modern magic - the geeky-cool of academic and illusionist Latimer, the Gothic gore of double act Barry and Stuart, and the self-deprecating comedy of Firman.

Modestly, Firman protests against this accolade of ‘cool’.

“I never try to be cool. I just try and do things in a way that I would like to see them done," he says.

Yet his first ‘grand illusion’ of the series suggests otherwise, as he bounces Boyzone’s Keith Duffy down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in a Zorb (a giant inflatable ball).

Each week there will be a pre-recorded grand illusion in a different part of the UK, similar to David Blaine’s headline-grabbing stunts or Derren Brown’s The Events.

Each stunt is performed with the aid of a celebrity assistant, who will also appear on the live show.

The line-up of celebrity assistants for the series includes former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, boyband The Wanted and Baywatch legend David Hasselhoff.

But in a live setting with high-risk stunts, could the celebs be more of a help than a hindrance?

The showman in Firman dictates that whatever happens the show must go on, but he admits working with a celebrity will make that recovery tougher.

“I can wing it on my own, but this isn’t a double act partner that I’ve worked with for 20 years,” he says.

“You’ll see everything, warts and all!”

Viewers at home will be able to vote each week for their favourite pairing. If their performance fails to gain enough public votes, they will be forced to perform a forfeit, a dangerous trick producers describe as “live and dramatic”.

Details of the forfeits are being kept tightly under wraps, but given that the last series had BBC Breakfast presenter Sian Williams walking on hot coals, they won’t be a stroll in the park.

Our enthusiasm for magic is, according to McMullen, “definitely a Brit thing”.

He remembers the excitement of magic when he was a kid, and says this was what drew him to the show.

*Pete Firman plays King George’s Hall, Blackburn, on Friday, February 24. Details from 0844 847 1664