Tricky TV

Tricky TV
Starring	Stephen Mulhern
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	43
Production
Producer	The Foundation
Running time	less than 30 minutes
Original release
Network	CITV
Release	September 5, 2005 (2005-09-05) – October 15, 2010 (2010-10-15)

Tricky TV is a British television show that airs on CITV. Presented by children's presenter and magician Stephen Mulhern, the show features magic on the street, "wicked wind-ups", illusions, and teaches a number of tricks step-by-step.

Format

The show featured magic tricks ranging from making a tank vanish to making an entire football team appear. The "wicked wind-ups" included a gorilla that came to life and a cinema with exploding popcorn and unstoppable drinks machines. Classic con tricks were also exposed in "Beat the Cheat". Each show usually closed with a performance of a classic "grand illusion", such as Sawing a Woman in Half.

Mulhern performing a magic trick to a child at Chessington World of Adventures during filming of the show.

In Series 1 and 2, Mulhern was joined each week by one or more special guest celebrities, who often took part in a number of tricks during the show, and sometimes participated in the show's closing illusion. In series 3, the format was dramatically redesigned as Stephen Mulhern presents more in the background and allows a 'Tricky Team' of young magicians to perform the illusions.

Production

The show is produced by The Foundation, the same company that produces Finger Tips, Globo Loco and Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown, which also starred Mulhern.

Tricky TV was first broadcast in the 4pm slot on ITV from 5 September 2005. The creative consultant was Paul Andrews. The show's executive producer was Vanessa Hill for The Foundation. Series 2 was produced by Ian France and directed by Paul Andrews. Series 3 was co-produced, written and directed by Paul Andrews and has sold to over 100 countries.

Transmissions

Series	First aired	Last aired	Episodes
1	5 September 2005	13 November 2005	10
2	10 March 2006	2 June 2006	13
3	14 September 2010	15 October 2010	20

Episodes

Series 1

Series 1 consisted of ten episodes, and ran from 5 September 2005 to 7 November 2005.

Episode	In series	Original air date	Special guest	Episode details
1	1	5 September 2005	Jennifer Ellison	A full-sized model gorilla comes to life, Stephen makes a dream come true for a class of schoolkids - by causing their teachers to vanish. Jennifer Ellison is amazed by a card trick, and then cut into three in the "Zigzag Girl".
2	2	12 September 2005		A school trip to the Kent Museum of Life takes a turn when a schoolboy called Josh is flattened after being put through a wringer, Stephen also attempts to make a tank disappear, and then leads a cookery class that gets out of hand.
3	3	19 September 2005	Caprice	Stephen demonstrates the illusion of levitation, customers at an ice-cream van are served up a surprise, and in the closing illusion, Caprice is left feeling a little cut up in a giant card trick.
4	4	26 September 2005	The Cheeky Girls	In this episode, the Cheeky Girls help Stephen perform a trick with playing cards - by sitting on them. Plus Stephen demonstrates a trick where a handkerchief turns into an egg with a touch of magic. Finally, the Cheeky Girls help Stephen with another trick where he saws them both in half and switches their lower halves.
5	5	3 October 2005	Bradley Walsh	In this episode, Bradley Walsh is amazed by a card trick with a football link; Stephen transforms a viewer's old family car; a poster comes to life; a harmless toy terrifies members of the public; and a viewer asks Stephen to use their mother in a dangerous feat.
6	6	10 October 2005	Rachel Stevens	In this episode, magical mayhem abounds on a school trip to the cinema, and singer Rachel Stevens is amazed when Stephen performs a mind-boggling trick with her expensive ring, and then saws her in half while she's standing up. Plus, Stephen sends a bodybuilder to the Table of Death to be impaled by a bed of sharp spikes falling from above.
7	7	17 October 2005	Joe Pasquale	In this episode, comedian Joe Pasquale plays a version of Russian roulette, and Stephen tries to turn a pack of cub scouts into brownies.
8	8	24 October 2005	Peter Andre	Singer Peter Andre receives a shock when the presenter attempts a trick using a fearsome fork, Stephen shows a secret to make a person levitate, and a big trick with a plane.
9	9	31 October 2005		Stephen visits a sleepover to show a sleeping levitation, rescues a cat with magic, and shows off the secrets of a haunted house.
10	10	17 October 2005	Jack Osbourne	Stephen presents a baffling trick with a box of tissues, guest Jack Osbourne receives some unusual help to overcome his jet-lag, and a bodybuilder volunteers for a dangerous underwater trick.

Series 2

Series 2 ran from 10 March – 2 June 2006

Episode	In series	Original airdate	Special guest	Episode details
11	1	10 March 2006		Stephen visits Blackpool beach; Holly appears from nowhere, and then uses a magical changing room to put on her bikini. In the closing illusion, Stephen uses a bodybuilder to demonstrate the "Beach BBQ".
12	2	17 March 2006		We find out how magicians make ice cream; and a donkey gets a ride for once. In the closing illusion, a bodybuilder goes to pieces in the 'Bikini Blocks'.
13	3	24 March 2006	David Beckham	In this episode, Stephen makes Holly’s wedding ring vanish from inside her closed hand and then reappear inside a rose. He also brings a David Beckham waxwork to life, and then makes a horse disappear.
14	4	31 March 2006	Nikki Sanderson	Stephen takes a knight to pieces in a suit of armour, amazes Nikki with a trick with a bottle, and brings some magic to a library.
15	5	7 April 2006	Philip Schofield	Stephen amazes Philip with a close up magic trick, shows off his magic picnic basket, and then makes a viewer's mother float high in the air above London.
16	6	14 April 2006		On Blackpool beach, Stephen borrows an Aunty - then makes her vanish. A card trick becomes a donkey trick. Aunty Linsey reappears in a tank of water. Beat the Cheat shares another secret. Aunty Linsey is penetrated by light-bulbs.
17	7	21 April 2006		In "The Disembodied Princess", Stephen makes a gymnastics coach's body disappear, leaving just her head and legs.
18	8	28 April 2006		Stephen uses a small tree house for a Big Trick and teaches magic in the Secret Circle. He also visits a gym and stretches and squashes a bodybuilder to impossible sizes in "The Stretcher".
19	9	5 May 2006		Stephen introduces Holly to his idea of "Modern Art" when he saws her in half while she's standing up.
20	10	12 May 2006		Stephen attends a school in Denbigh and puts a schoolgirl called Sophie through an illusion called the Wringer where she is flattened. At a gym in London, Stephen performs Bodybuilder Bisection, using a buzzsaw to slice the man in half.
21	11	19 May 2006		Stephen gets right to the point with a gym teacher, a classic confidence trick is exposed in Beat the Cheat, and a French lesson is cut short by a guillotine.
22	12	26 May 2006		Stephen surprises a viewer's mother with some conjuring, and helps her dress the part, before she takes to the high seas for an illusion with pirates. Plus, magic tips for viewers in the Secret Circle, and Stephen's volunteer assistant being cut into nine in an illusion called "The Slicer".
23	13	2 June 2006		In "Girl Through Glass", Stephen pushes Holly through a solid pane of glass, and also cuts her in half.

Series 3

Series 3 consisted of twenty episodes, and ran from 14 September – 15 October 2010. Episodes 1-14 were presented by Stephen Williams.

Episode	In series	Original airdate	Special guest	Episode details
24	1	14 September 2010	Girls Aloud	Girls Aloud join Stephen at the seaside, and take part in some magic. Stephen's apprentices demonstrate their skills
25	2	15 September 2010	Nell McAndrew	Sporty magic with special guest Nell McAndrew
26	3	16 September 2010
27	4	17 September 2010
28	5	21 September 2010
29	6	22 September 2010
30	7	23 September 2010
31	8	24 September 2010
32	9	28 September 2010
33	10	29 September 2010
34	11	30 September 2010
35	12	1 October 2010
36	13	5 October 2010
37	14	6 October 2010
38	15	7 October 2010
39	16	8 October 2010
40	17	12 October 2010
41	18	13 October 2010
42	19	14 October 2010
43	20	15 October 2010

Tricky Quickies

Tricky Quickies was a cut down version of the show which has a duration of 5 minutes. Series 1 had 10 episodes, while series 2 had 15 episodes.

The Quick Trick Show

The Quick Trick Show was a British children's television series. It was presented by Stephen Mulhern, and like its sister show Tricky TV, the show featured magic tricks, "wicked wind-ups", illusions, and taught a number of tricks step-by-step. Five series in total were produced and aired on CITV between 1999 and 2002.

Series Guide

Series	Premiere	Last in series	Episodes
1	13 April 1999	18 May 1999	6
2	23 February 2000	5 April 2000	7
3	27 February 2001	20 March 2001	13
4	24 September 2001	11 October 2001	13
5	16 October 2002	18 December 2002	10

International broadcast

Tricky TV was aired in Southeast Asia on Cartoon Network Asia, in Germany on Super RTL, in the Arab World on MBC 4, in Iceland on Stöð 2, in Norway on NRK Super, in Canada on VRAK.TV, in India on Nickelodeon, in Hong Kong on ATV World and in Japan on Disney XD.

External links

• Tricky TV at itv.com