WHETHER you believe in mediums or not, Derek Acorah's show is compelling theatre.

His army of fans ensured two sell-out gigs at Blackpool's Grand Theatre. I was at the Thursday one, which was a lot of fun (if that's the right word for a show starring a medium).

I did cringe at the cheesy start, with music from War of the Worlds and a hyperbolic American voice-over declaring Derek a 'modern-day Merlin'.

But when the man himself appeared in his neat pinstripe suit it wasn't long before believers were being won over by his accuracy and down-to-earth Liverpudlian ways.

The format was simple but winning: Derek's short introduction to mediumship, followed by messages to audience members, and finishing with a Q and A session.

Cameras filmed the audience and those who 'got a message' were displayed on a big screen on-stage for us all to watch their reactions.

It all helped to create an atmosphere of excitement. One man in the audience even publicly proposed to his sweetheart, who was screened nodding her reply.

And it seems Derek's stage show has got just as many fans in the spirit world (not surprising because they don't have to pay to get in) as plenty of them were apparently queuing up to say hello.

It did lead to a kerfuffle at one point involving (Derek said) one Mr Booker, a spirit so impatient to contact his grandson that he shoved two glasses of water off a table on the stage while waiting.

Believers gasped while sceptics raised an eyebrow -- but either way you couldn't deny it was all very entertaining.