Advent Calendar 2021 Day 9: the Paul Daniels Magic Christmas Show, 1984

You don't tend to think of him as a festive schedule fixture but Paul Daniels had fifteen straight Christmas shows from 1979 onwards, and between 1980 and this one only one wasn't on the day itself. This feels like classic Paul - wig, "man who exhales" theme, Debbie established by name, not yet overexposed. The opener involves a series of boxes, Paul with a big bag over his head and the involvement of yachtswoman Clare Francis, Bonnie Langford, Anneka Rice (whose forename Paul pronounces as it's spelt), Val Doonican and Larry Grayson. There's a classic trick in memory of Tommy Cooper using his own prop. The special guests are appropriately exotic, juggler Kris Kremo and the astonishing veteran clown George Carl, who attracts some very distinctive laughing styles from the audience. The closer is one of Daniels' best remembered big tricks as Paul vanishes a million pounds in cash, something which takes nearly twenty minutes to do. One of the witnesses is the similarly inclined Robert Maxwell, who seems to want to be very tactile with the money.