TV magician Paul Daniels' nephew stuns BGT judges 10 years since uncle's cancer death

EXCLUSIVE: TV magician Paul Daniels' nephew stuns BGT judges 10 years since uncle's cancer deathMagician James Phelan will transfix Simon Cowell and co on ITV's Britain's Got Talent tonight, an audition which he hopes will make his late uncle Paul Daniels proudCommentsNewsHannah Britt, Senior Reporter Mirror Features11:00, 11 Apr 2026Updated 11:11, 11 Apr 2026View 6 ImagesJames Phelan is a magician and nephew of the late Paul Daniels(Image: Tom Dymond)It’s a magic moment for James Phelan tonight when he conjures up memories of his famous relative on Britain’s Got Talent. An accomplished magician, James, 33, learned at the hands of a master - his uncle, Paul Daniels. Or, more accurately, he learned from old VHS video tapes of The Paul Daniels Magic Show. For, while Paul readily performed tricks at the dinner table, he only taught one to James - a simple colour changing card trick.‌James says: “My mum asked him to. He never told me how to do anything else, he’d say, ‘It's in one of those books over there. Read those books and you'll find out how it's done’. He didn't want me to be a tribute act, I suppose. He said, ‘don't be me, be you, because you're the best one of you there is’.”‌READ MORE: BGT's Jonathan Antoine reveals suicide hell, breakdown and horror health battleJames’s performance on the ITV talent show, in front of mesmerised judges, shows his uncle gave him good advice. He says: “Simon Cowell is a huge lover of magic and Amanda Holden seemed to like magic before anyone else did. The audition felt like a real moment and it was a way for me to feel close to my uncle Paul again, which I think is really lovely. As I stood on stage at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool - somewhere my uncle had performed so many times, his pictures were on the walls as I walked to the stage. I could feel the weight of the room.‌View 6 ImagesDebbie McGee and Paul Daniels take a break from performing in panto Dick Whittington to...