Derren Brown: Showman viewers thought something fishy was going on as Cush Jumbo was called to the stage (Picture: Channel 4)
Derren Brown is famous for his mind-bending tricks, amazing viewers once again with Showman on Channel 4 on Sunday night.
However, some viewers at home were less than impressed when an actress was supposed ‘randomly’ called to the stage.
Cush Jumbo, who has starred in series such as Deadwater Fell and Netflix’s Stay Close, was chosen right at the start of the performance, after audience members were invited to dial a specific phone number.
As Cush was the only one who got through, she was taken backstage for some ‘subconscious training.’
The training was based on the work of Julius and Agnes Zancig, who performed spectacular mentalism in the late 1800s, making their money by swindling casinos as they ‘predicted’ how dice would land before they were even rolled.
While the duo spent years perfecting their act, Derren wanted to see if he could train someone else (Cush) to do it in just half an hour.
The actress was involved in some ‘subconscious training (Picture: Channel 4)
The Netflix star insisted she just wanted to see the show (Picture: Channel 4)
So, when the star was brought back onto the stage, she explained that she was given a pill to take before placing headphones on, but had zero recollection of anyone talking to her about dice or making predictions.
The magician proceeded to spin a coin several times, while Cush had her eyes closed.
Amazingly, though, she was able to correctly predict whether it would land on heads or tails, getting it right every time.
Cush continued to insist that no one had told her the answers beforehand.
After previously selecting a random audience member with a £5 banknote, Derren then brought a man to the stage.
She explained that she was played music through headphones and given a pill (Picture: Channel 4)
The Deadwater Fell star was then instructed to predict how coins would flip and dice would role (Picture: Channel 4)
He instructed a blindfolded Cush to write down any numbers that came to her mind while a piece of music by Mozart was playing, which she remembered hearing through headphones while backstage earlier.
After she was finished, the serial number of the man’s banknote was revealed.
Yep, you guessed it, she got it right, despite not having seen the banknote and each note’s serial number being totally different.
It was an impressive moment, without a doubt, however, Twitter users admitted that some of the magic had been taken away from it, given Cush’s occupation.
One person wrote: ‘I’m guessing famous actor #CushJumbo must be part of the act right? Or is she meant to he random??’
In amazing scenes, Cush was able to correctly predict each coin flip (Picture: Channel 4)
She also predicted the sixth role of a die (Picture: Channel 4)
She even called out a banknote serial number without seeing it (Picture: Channel 4)
A follower replied: ‘She’s meant to be a random .. lol but sorry I don’t buy it’.
‘As soon as Cush Jumbo was picked, if this is ‘genuine’; they should have stopped filming and chose someone else,’ another viewer argued.
‘Wait a minute, you’re telling me high profile actress Cush Jumbo just happened to be randomly chosen for this?’, one wrote.
One fan argued: ‘I went to see this show and was amazed by it – but even now I’m thinking it must be a set-up if Cush Jumbo was just randomly the person who got through on the phone!’
Both Cush and Derren laughed when she revealed that she was an actress, but assured she ‘wasn’t acting’ in that moment and just wanted to go and see the show.
Many recognised the actress from Netflix series Stay Close (Picture: PA)
Defending her being brought up on stage, one Twitter user wrote: ‘I bet @DerrenBrown was gutted that he accidentally picked out actress Cush Jumbo for the show he recorded to televise. As soon as she walked up on stage my other half said “She’s an actress.” (We watched her in Stay Close on Netflix)’
Others also passionately insisted that she was not a ‘plant.’
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‘Hundreds of celebs see his shows. Occasionally one will get randomly called. John Thomson was on stage at a show I went to in 2007’, added a past audience member.
‘Yeah I guess it’s just law of averages,’ another reasoned.
What do you reckon, was Cush in on the trick? If not, how was it done?
Derren Brown: Showman is available to stream on All4.
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‘I don’t buy it.’