The Gift The David Meade Project

I am absolutely terrified. This is a huge night for me.

I've chosen a perfect stranger

and gifted them my mind-reading abilities

and they're going to be tested in front of a live audience.

This has never been attempted before

and could all go horribly wrong.

I'm giving everything away.

Well, it is Christmas after all.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen,

the one, the only, the fantastic

David Meade!

INTRO MUSIC

Hello, good evening.

Hello, hello.

Good evening, everyone.

Good evening, and thank you for coming.

My name is David Meade and I am a mentalist.

Now I'm conscious that an awful lot of you here

may think that means I'm a psychic...or a psycho,

but I'm neither of those things, I can assure you,

despite my slightly weird dress.

My job is to try and make it look like I can read your minds

and it's much easier for me to show you how I do that than to explain,

so I promise I won't embarrass anyone, but if you don't mind...

Gentleman here, I promise I won't embarrass you.

When I click my fingers,

I want both of you to raise one hand up into the air above your head.

Three, two, one. Go!

Now, all I need are a couple of willing volunteers.

Oh, you two look keen!

Give them a round of applause as they make their way up.

APPLAUSE

Now, what's your name?

-Stephen.

-Stephen and...

-Chris.

Stephen and Chris,

-thank you for helping. Have you had your mind read before?

-I have not.

-What about you?

-No.

OK, Stephen, I promise it will be, broadly speaking, quite painless.

Let me tell you how this works.

Here we have a wheelbarrow full of books,

contributed by a range of new and second-hand bookshops across town.

That's so you know we haven't tampered with them.

The owners are here. Hello. Thank you for coming.

So, we'll slowly work our way through every one of the books.

It'll only take about 12 hours

so you take that one and you take that one.

I want you to flick through and make sure all the pages are different

and all the words are different,

and when you're happy I'll start with you.

Happy they're all nicely mixed up?

-Yes.

-I'm...I'm glad we have these little chats.

Now, I want you to stand with both hands by your side for me.

I'll flick through the pages. Call out the word "stop" anywhere.

Stop.

Is that precisely where you want it?

-Yes.

-Are there words or pictures on that page?

-Words.

OK. Don't say any of them out loud,

but for now, I want you to read silently the first word on the page.

-OK.

-Can you do that?

Hold the book open, up against your chest.

Now, my job is to work out what that word is.

And all you need to do is hide it.

I want you to think of the first letter of that word

and say the alphabet.

Go.

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K...

See what you did there? Slightly up and to the right on the letter F.

Is the first letter F?

Really? It is?

In the business, you're what we call "easy."

So, thinking of the second letter for me,

thinking of the second letter,

bearing in mind you know exactly how I'm doing this now,

could you hold that with your right hand?

I assume you write with your right hand? OK, excellent.

I just need to strip this up here. Thinking of the second letter,

go quickly now, say the alphabet quickly.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPHQ...

LAUGHTER

It's OK, the important thing is that no-one's watching.

So, thinking of the second letter, start again for me.

-ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX...

-OK, very interesting.

Sorry to interrupt you,

but I don't want to keep the pain on any longer.

What's interesting is,

you think I think that you think I'm looking for the same thing.

I'm not, cos you blinked a lot there,

like you were going into anaphylactic shock.

And it's not to do with your wrist. I watched your foot

and your left foot tapped on R. Is the second letter R?

Is it, really?

Wow, I wish you came to all these shows.

I want you to think of the third letter for me now, and this time,

I'll teach you all the technique, because this show is about gifts

and it's about learning things.

This is a technique you will be able to use in job interviews,

even on dates and in nightclubs.

The FBI use it, CSI use it, and it's a really useful technique

to work out what's going on inside someone's head.

This time I'm going to say the alphabet.

A B

C D

E

F G

H

I J K

LMNOP

QRS

TUV

WX

Y...Z.

-Did that put you off at all?

-Not at all.

OK, we'll exchange numbers afterwards.

Was the third letter E?

-Indeed.

-It was! Brilliant.

It was nothing to do with the face, I just liked you.

So, this time I want you to think of the entire word for me

cos I think I'll make a guess. Close your eyes for me.

OK, closing your eyes.

Now, this won't be right

but...

it should be at least close, OK.

-Now, can everyone read that?

-Yeah.

Can everyone read that, OK? Now, for the first time out loud,

in a clear voice, what's the word you're thinking of?

Frequently.

Frequently, really?

Let me see! Let me see. Frequently!

APPLAUSE

Amazing.

Wow, thank you very much.

You know, at this point, almost everyone in the room

thinks I stopped on a page I wanted him to stop on.

I want to show that's not the case.

Open up to any page you like. Make sure that I can't see it.

Angle it up like this.

I'll ask you a question.

How many words would you say are on each of those pages?

-Several.

-Ooh, well, now.

Try not to be too accurate. You should work in Stormont.

And how many pages would you say are in the entire book?

About 200?

-So we're talking about thousands of possible words.

-Yep.

Choose any word you like. All I ask is that it's a good long one.

Nine, ten letters, a nice long one. Let me know when you've got it.

-Yep.

-You keeping this a secret?

OK. Now, I'm not going to try and read your mind.

He is.

Now, all I want you to do is look him straight in the eye for me,

engage eye contact, and say the alphabet. Go.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP

QRSTUVWXYZ.

You know there's no way for you to know what the letter is,

but forget that for a second and imagine you're in a world

you could genuinely tell him what the letter is.

It doesn't matter if he's wrong, although it will be hilarious.

What would you say is the first letter?

-V?

-V, OK.

Be honest, what's the first letter?

-P.

-P.

-Do you mind if I take over?

-Sure.

But you did a great job. Give him a round of applause. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Think of...this time,

this time,

I want you to think of the second letter of this for me.

I'm going to quickly say the alphabet. ABCDEFGH

IJKLMNO... was it H?

It was! Think about this in images, now. Think of this in shapes.

Say no to all these things.

-People?

-No.

-Places?

-No.

-Colours?

-No.

-Shapes?

-No.

-Really interesting. You always look up and to the left.

That suggests something visual, pictorial,

something to do with images,

and you're smiling, that confirms it, cos you're easy too.

We'll try something different.

This is a game of word association. Whatever your word is,

-I want you to say any word that isn't that word. Does that make sense?

-Yep.

I think it'll tell me a clue about your word.

So, in two seconds, any word in the world that isn't your word. Go.

Radiator.

Radiator?

You must host the most amazing parties.

-Oh, yes.

-Close your eyes, close your eyes for me.

Now, this...

this, this isn't going to be right.

But it should at least be something like this.

OK, now, for the first time,

out loud,

what's the word you're thinking of?

-Photographer.

-Seriously? Really?

Photographer? Let me see!

APPLAUSE

Photographer, excellent.

You can go back to your seat. Give him a round of applause.

In a nutshell, folks, that's what mentalism is.

And I've had about 20 years to perfect all of these techniques

but I've only had weeks to find and train the person

who's going to perform for you on this stage tonight

and I can't articulate how genuinely terrified I am.

It's one of the most challenging things I have ever, ever done.

But it looks like we've got just about everything we need.

We've got a stage, we've got an audience!

Before I continue, though,

this is at the very heart of what The Gift is all about.

But we'll get to that a bit later.

I've got almost everything I need, and now all I need is a protege.

And here's how I found them.

There's nothing like a cold early morning

to get the heart pumping.

That and putting out the call

to find the perfect recipient for The Gift.

Using radio, newspapers and social networking sites,

I've invited all comers to put themselves forward.

This is without doubt the most exciting thing I've ever done.

It's never been tried anywhere in the world before

and I'm terrified.

Out of the hundreds who responded,

I've chosen 32 people to experience a day of selection.

You never know what'll happen!

I'm excited. I'm just nervous.

Hopefully, somewhere in there

is the right person to receive The Gift.

I've no idea what to expect at all.

Nervous and excited.

I want to see how much he can mess with people's minds.

For me the big worry is that either I don't have enough time

or they don't have enough skills

or we don't get the right person who'll be able to do this.

If that happens, none of it will work.

What you are about to see may appear to be simple warm-up exercises

but don't be fooled.

All of this will inform my selection process later.

I'm looking for my chosen one from the outset.

I'm watching every move they make.

Stretch your arms out

and I want you to see that you're linked, you're tied together.

The best way to understand the mental is to get physical

and one of my favourite pastimes is tying people up.

I think I saw something like this online.

It's not what you think.

This is a mind game designed to loosen inhibitions.

Take two strangers, tie them together by the wrist,

then ask them to get free without untying the knots.

Great idea!

We tried wriggling around each other, but the more we did,

the more we tangled ourselves up.

It was annoying. I was stepping over his arms,

he was stepping underneath my legs,

we were upside down!

If we're to just look at that problem in a slightly different way,

-then perhaps that problem might be easier to solve.

-Ah!

CLAPPING

Another little favourite to get any party swinging

is this pendulum game.

At the end of each piece of rope,

I've got the applicant to attach an item from their pocket

that they think is valuable.

In this case, a phone, some car keys

and what appears to be a half-chewed button.

Anyway,

then they simply dangle the rope and hold it steady.

But here, watch what happens.

-Are you making that happen?

-No.

You're keeping your hand still.

-Look, it isn't moving a single millimetre.

-No.

One minute you've got your eyes closed

and the pendulum is swinging back to front,

then you look and it's going in a circle, and you've no idea how.

I really appreciate your time.

I've got some useful information, but I'm not finished with you yet.

So, now I know what makes them tick,

it's time for the real selection process to begin.

In order to pick the right person, I've devised a simple game.

It's a comparison game. I call it Either/Or.

It's tea or coffee,

day or night, fight or flight

or Mum or Dad. What's interesting is, the answer to these questions

will tell me a bit about the person filling it in.

How they react under pressure, and what in their lives they consider important.

First, everyone chooses a seat at random,

and they all wear a name badge with their own unique number.

Pay attention, that will be important later.

Everyone has a survey? Everyone has a pen?

Good luck. Fill out your questionnaire. Go.

Everyone fills out their cards

and with the help of two random assistants,

we tally up the results of the survey.

I wonder how many will choose Mum over Dad.

Are you happy that you chose your own seats to sit in?

You're happy? OK, good.

If you could all reach under your seat for me, there's an envelope under there.

Now, inside one of these

is a million... Not really.

LAUGHTER

Most envelopes contain a blank sheet.

But some envelopes contain a green tick.

Those seats are very special to me.

Whoever has a tick,

if you could come up and stand behind the plinth.

Whoever has a tick.

'Now for the results of the survey.

'Remember I mentioned those numbered badges?'

Eight for tea, OK, we have eight for tea.

Nathan, you're number eight.

Yeah, I'm eight.

On your name badge, you were assigned number eight?

For coffee, we have 5, 10, 15,

20...24. OK, number 24?

OK, Lorna, you're number 24.

Fight, we have 14.

Anyone have a 14? You have a 14.

OK, and flight. We have 18.

You have an 18.

Then we have Mum, and 23.

Amanda.

And finally we have 5, 6, 7, 8...9.

You have a 9, yeah?

For day we have, is that 12?

-Yep.

-Number 12?

'But it looks like two of the numbers haven't matched.'

Number 19?

Anyone, number 19?

No? No?

So, in six of the eight cases,

the group has actually selected the numbers that are on your chests

through their random musings and surveys,

so...

That makes you mental.

Six out of eight isn't bad.

They weren't exactly the eight I was expecting,

but that's the danger of mentalism. It doesn't always go to plan.

It also makes it slightly more terrifying

because one of you is going to do this on TV.

APPLAUSE

That was genuinely excruciating to watch for me

and I'm not pretending, because it really didn't go to plan.

That wasn't expected and it's always slightly mortifying

when I'm at the head of it.

I decided that's what mentalism is all about -

sometimes things don't go to plan

so I took all eight of them through anyway.

Here they are, my finalists.

Martin McNally from Strabane, Nathan McConnell from Lisburn,

Ciaran Judge from Coleraine, Sean McLaughlin from Randalstown,

Naomi Armstrong from Tynan, Lorna Billington from Portavogie,

Amanda Stewart from Magherafelt and Jennifer Wills from Millisle.

The fact is, though, anyone can learn to be a mentalist.

It's really easy, it's not divine or anything. It's not psychic.

It takes real nerves of steel to be able

to stand up in front of an audience of up to hundreds.

I needed to see just how brave they here, so I sent them to battle.

My eight participants begin their journey in a secluded car park.

Remember, only one of them will get the chance to receive The Gift.

I really don't know a thing. Where are we?

I don't know that.

The only thing I've told them - wear sensible footwear.

-I'm not sure everyone was paying attention.

-They're pretty!

I hope in their confusion it hasn't slipped their minds that today

some of them are going to be eliminated.

Just so as they're not completely in the dark,

I've left a message to get them started.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to boot camp.

I want you to put on the fatigues on the floor

and listen to the safety briefing.

It's for your own good.

I was feeling very nervous this morning and now I know why.

I'm about to get shot at.

When it comes to being competitive and having to win,

I'm out there to win it.

You're mine, that's it. That's what I'm thinking,

I want to get out there and shoot some people.

OK, everybody.

Goggles must be worn at all times once you leave.

Goggles are never to be removed for any reason whatsoever

on the game field or the firing range.

This is not going to be good.

I'm going to pull goggles down over my glasses.

I'm not going to be able to see, it's very hot.

Should you lift your mask high enough to get hit in the eye,

-you will lose your eye.

-Everybody's really going for it.

I can tell the guys are just going to go buck mad. God help us.

Let me say, you all look amazing.

-Thank you all for coming. A bit nervous?

-Yes.

-Really, yeah?

You're not going to be shooting each other

which I know is a disappointment to at least three of you.

Three of you sadists. But you're going to be shooting a piece of art.

Just like real artists,

the participants sign their canvases, although real artists

would normally wait until after the painting is finished.

Just in case it's rubbish. Everyone ready?

What sort of artist would use a paintball gun?

These would-be mentalists, obviously.

I want each of them to be as creative as possible.

This will help me later when it comes to deciding who to eliminate.

I'm going to place the pictures

in what I think is the order of artistic merit.

Come on in. So I've lined them up best to least best.

Now my participants have to rate where they think I've placed them.

Best being up here and slightly less best -

I don't want to say worst - less best down here.

Naomi, whenever you're ready,

go ahead and stand as you would rate yourself.

Now, they don't know it yet but these choices will decide

which of them stay in the running for The Gift.

Nathan clearly doesn't believe I like his artwork,

while Sean is supremely confident, choosing the top spot for himself.

Ladies and gentlemen, Sean. Let's hear it for Sean.

Sean, the outcome of this is really important.

How well this goes will dictate who progresses through

to the next round, because not all of you will, unfortunately.

They've made their choices, let's see if they stood

where I rated them.

Starting left to right. Nathan, did you stand in the right place?

You did. Let's hear it for Nathan, good job.

Amanda? Is that yours?

It is. All right, well done.

And we have Naomi's. And we have Lorna. Excellent.

Everyone right so far - oh, no! Jennifer's got it wrong.

Ah, so this one is Martin's. And Martin's got it wrong too. Whoops.

And so is Ciaran. Three in a row.

But Sean, who put himself in top place, seems to have got it right.

This is Sean's.

Statistically, I knew some of you wouldn't get this right

but I thought that Nathan would get it right.

That's why I've done "Congratulations, Nathan."

And I thought that Amanda would probably get it right

and so I've got "Congratulations, Amanda."

Hence why we've got "Congratulations, Naomi"

and "Congratulations, Lorna"

and I thought that Sean would get it right.

That's why we have "Congratulations, Sean."

So, we have three here that haven't got them correct

and I need to show you, because behind here, unfortunately

I thought you would stand in the wrong position, Jennifer.

I thought, Martin, you would stand in the wrong position.

Then I thought that Ciaran, you would stand in the wrong position.

Folks, I'm really sorry but unfortunately,

because you went for those positions,

I can't move you through to the next stage of The Gift.

So, only five remain. Sean, Lorna, Nathan, Amanda and Naomi.

I've decided to reward them with a little treat.

For one or two of them, today will have been quite stressful,

so I'd like to treat them, because I really appreciate their time.

So, I'm taking them out for some ice cream

and a little game of Pass the Parcel.

Tuck in, my little munchkins. Enjoy it while you can.

Lovely. Thank you very much indeed. There we are. Thank you.

We're going to play a really simple game of Pass the Parcel.

This parcel is going to be passed around

but I don't want it to be an ordinary game.

If you receive the parcel, you can if you wish,

pass it back to the person who's given it to you.

Or if you want to be really clever, you can pass it across the table.

You can pass it across the table like that, should you wish,

or back over to me. Easy!

If you've got a phone, you've got a lawyer.

At one point, one of you, I want you to stop and say,

if you get the urge, "I want to keep it."

Whenever we're ready, I think I'm going to pass it...

this way.

For my ideal successful candidate,

making a correct decision at the right time is crucial.

-A mistake now could cost you the lot.

-Don't do that!

-I'm going to keep this.

-You're keeping it?

Feels like a good decision?

So, Naomi has decided to keep the parcel.

"To Naomi." If you want to read that out for me.

"I can't thank you enough for taking part but if you chose

"to open it, your journey ends here."

Your journey ends here. I'm really sorry, Naomi.

Let's hear it for Naomi, everyone.

APPLAUSE

Jennifer, Martin, Ciaran and Naomi, thank you so much for taking part.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Jennifer, if you don't mind me asking,

do you think your picture points out any underlying anger issues?

-No.

-What do you think your picture says about you?

-I think bold but messy.

-Bold but messy?

You've obviously had some time to think about that, I'm sure

a psychologist would say vastly different.

But you all did a fantastic job

and I don't want you to leave empty-handed.

Put your pictures down on the ground for me

and there are some gifts behind you there.

Take whatever gift you like and go ahead and take a seat and relax.

Ladies and gentlemen, Jennifer, Martin and Ciaran!

APPLAUSE

Now, Naomi, I hope you don't end up

with some pathological fear of Pass the Parcel.

It really isn't out to get you,

-but did you enjoy your time in the process?

-I did, it was really fun.

You did a fantastic job. I know you would have loved to have got it.

But you're not going to leave empty-handed,

there's a gift for you as well. Pick whatever one you like, Naomi.

You can have a totally free choice and take a seat. Naomi, everyone.

So, four have been eliminated and four remain.

We need to whittle it down a little bit further and I decided

to take the remainders on a world tour without leaving Belfast.

It's first thing in the morning, it's freezing,

I'd much rather be in bed but I'm going on a bus tour.

And I'm not going alone.

My four remaining contenders for The Gift -

Amanda, Nathan, Lorna and Sean -

are going to join me.

It's really important you listen to everything, that's critical.

As you look at all these places, I want you to consider...

how painful that was!

Whoever receives The Gift must be able to retain information

so we're going on a world tour from a Belfast bus.

I want to see if each of this merry band of tourists

are travelling in my direction and our first stop -

the world-famous Crown Bar with its Italian design.

Michael Flanagan was the previous owner

when it came into its current opulence.

It was his son Patrick who made the bar famous.

He was a student of architecture and travelled around the world

and managed, in 1885, to convince a lot of craftsmen who were over

building huge cathedrals and catholic churches here,

to moonlight and work in the evening

on the stunning architecture of the Crown.

Now, coming up very shortly, we have City Hall.

It's been a building that has influenced

countless buildings across the world. So much so,

I have a little image here of the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

It's virtually identical to Belfast City Hall.

It's so close, it's actually stunning.

Now, the illustrious Albert Clock.

The building stands at 113 feet tall.

The design elements you see there that are most

eye-catching are actually very French and Italian influences.

That means it will tell you the time

but will do it with a little bit of arrogance.

Just a touch.

Yes, it's all fun and games but this process is no laughing matter.

While they've been observing the world, I've been observing them.

The fascinating thing is that Belfast really is a lens

and a window to the world.

Take a marker now for me. Any one you like.

Starting from Belfast, my participants

are going to take a trip around the world with their markers.

I want you to know you can travel anywhere you wish.

You can go left, right, up, down, round in a circle.

Whenever you're ready, folks, I want you to separate now.

I want you to travel past anywhere you wish.

Travel anywhere in the world and I don't mind

if you have to go over or under.

Now, the wider your path goes, the more random this is.

It's almost elimination time. Let's hope I've mapped this out correctly.

I want you to find somewhere to stop.

Amanda, I'm going to do this one at a time.

Pull it out and tell me where you decided to stop.

What's under your marker?

-Wellington in New Zealand.

-Ever been before?

-No.

-Random?

-Yeah.

I thought, Amanda, that you would go to Wellington.

That is the little green dot there, that's where you chose to stop?

Happy, yes?

-Lorna, what about you?

-Algiers, in Algeria.

OK, all the way up to there. A circle around.

And yours was pink, Lorna?

Let's just double-check. I realise it's slightly difficult to follow.

Right through there, right through Algiers. What about you, Sean?

-Reykjavik in Iceland.

-You were up here.

-There we have Sean in Reykjavik. Next is Nathan.

-I'm over here.

-You're over here? Where did you go?

-I'm in Japan in Tokyo.

You actually did a little bit of a loop-the-loop here.

-Be honest, was that Lorna's fault?

-It was.

-He says it's your fault.

I thought that Sean would go to Tokyo in Japan.

I had done a little circle around it but I changed my mind

and I eventually thought, Nathan,

you would end up on the east coast of America.

-Did you think of anywhere like that?

-I didn't, no.

I had a couple of places in mind but not over towards America.

I've got Amanda's, Sean's and Lorna's destinations correct,

But sadly it's now clear that Nathan and I are worlds apart.

Thank you so much for coming. We can do a man hug?

Let's hear it for Nathan, everybody.

I don't know what he was looking for

and I don't know what would make a good mentalist.

I reckon Sean, maybe. If I had to guess, I would go for Sean, I reckon.

So, only three remain. Sean, Amanda and Lorna.

Painful as this is, I can't stop there

because only one person can receive The Gift.

I've brought my participants to a secure location.

No, they're not training to become cat burglars.

To be a great mentalist, you have to work on instinct.

So, I've decided to see how they cope

when I remove a few of their senses.

I'm going to ask you to open up your presents for me now.

They've each chosen a seat with a gift

which they now need to open with these sensory impediments.

Your senses will be fooling you now.

T-shirt?

Now, your next job is to put that T-shirt on.

Round one make sure it's on the right way round.

Round two now.

I want the three of you to write your name backwards.

I want you to write it in mirror form.

I often use the writing backwards technique

to stimulate my grey matter.

It's also a great game to play at your next festive family party,

maybe.

I've written on the desk.

Lorna's is...interesting.

Sean's is near-perfect.

Amanda's also done a pretty good job.

Now, for round three. Let's seem how well they do with this one.

In a moment, you're going to have your first opportunity

to try and read a mind.

Now, I'm going to scribble a number here.

OK. Now this is a two digit number.

So, I want each of you to take a guess

at this two digit number.

I believe it to be 20.

-45.

-72.

72? Pick it up and see who got closest.

22?

22. So, closest was Sean.

So, Sean, you're definitely in the final two.

So let's hear it for Sean.

Sean's place is safe, but it comes at a price.

He has to select who's in and who's out.

You're going to choose one to go through to the next round.

To keep it random,

Amanda puts her own photo and Lorna's photo

into two separate envelopes and gives them a wee shuffle.

Sean can't possibly know which envelope contains which.

You're going to take both of those envelopes towards you.

Go ahead and do that now.

Sean, whoever you slide across the table...is in.

Whenever you're ready, slide one all the way over to me.

Before you do that...

I'm going to give you the opportunity,

you can take it back, or that can be your fixed choice.

-No, I'm happy.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

And Lorna is out.

-Lorna.

-It's all right.

-Sorry, Lorna.

-That's OK.

I did have a thought though... of exactly how this will play out.

If you could stand up for me, please, Amanda.

And if you could turn out, Lorna,

could you read what it says on the back of Amanda's T-shirt?

-In.

-Amanda, would you read what's on the back of Lorna's?

Out.

Ladies, could you turn around for me

and read what it says on the back of Sean's T-shirt.

Both at the same time, please.

My choice will be Amanda, in, Lorna, out.

My number will be off by two.

Nooo!

Off by two?

That's just uncanny.

APPLAUSE

Nathan and Lorna, I've enjoyed working with you so much.

Nathan, you've decided to go to Tokyo.

Is that somewhere you've always wanted to go to?

Yeah. I'm quite interested in Japan and Asia.

I'd never have got that.

Lorna, you must've been disappointed

to be pipped just before the final two.

Er, no.

To be honest with you, it was interesting to see

I got nearly as far as the end.

Well, that is a glass half full if ever I've heard it.

You're not leaving empty-handed. There are presents on the floor.

Pick one and take a seat. Lorna and Nathan, everyone. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

So, only Sean and Amanda remain.

So the only question is who will receive The Gift?

There's only one way to find out.

# Christmas

# The snow's coming down

# Christmas

# I'm watching it fall... #

Christmas is coming and so is the end of this process.

What better way to finish but at the Continental Christmas Market?

# Christmas

# The church bells sound

# Christmas... #

Although it is bittersweet because this is the decider.

Will Sean or Amanda receive The Gift?

Well, it's all come down to this,

and it is just this.

But the decision is out of my hands.

The decision is down to you two

I want you both to know that either of you could do this.

Either one of you would be perfect, and for that reason,

I'm taking away some responsibility and handing to you.

I have an envelope here. Now, in a moment,

I'm going to give both of you the opportunity to take this envelope.

Now, one of you will take it and one of you won't.

You'll decide whether you want to take it,

or you want to leave it to someone else to decide your fate, OK?

Now...

I just wanted to take a couple of seconds now

and think about what you want to do.

Think about what your strategy is.

Think about what this means to you.

I want you to think about how much you want this.

Now, we could sit here for 20 minutes...

APPLAUSE

Now, I don't want you to give anything away,

I don't want you to give anything away just yet.

We're going to have a quick little poll.

If you think Amanda's going to receive The Gift, cheer, please.

And if you think Sean's going to receive The Gift,

can I have a cheer, please?

Well, let's see. Who will be the one?

Sean, you have done a very brave thing. How do you feel?

Erm...

a bit bolshy.

-A bit bolshy. OK. Do you feel confident?

-Yep.

It takes a very, brave person, Sean, to take control of their decisions.

A very, very brave person.

And I want both of you to know that no matter what happens...

I believe that either one of you

could have done an amazing job at this.

Sean, do you want to go ahead there?

I just want you to see before we go here.

Give us a wee read there. We want you to read that out.

The person who grabs the envelope

and takes control will not receive The Gift.

PS, sorry, Sean. Congratulations, Amanda.

A cheer for Amanda!

Congratulations, Amanda,

but commiserations, Sean.

How did it feel to fall at the last hurdle, Sean?

It was very disappointing if truth be told.

The whole process was amazing from start to finish.

I couldn't have asked for a better person to get The Gift.

You would've been an amazing protege.

But you're not leaving empty-handed.

We've got two gifts there. Take any one that you wish

and go and have a little seat with your friends. Sean, everyone.

-Amanda...

-Yes?

..audience.

-Audience, Amanda.

-Hi!

I'm sure you're very nervous, and a lot of people here

will be asking, just how did you train someone to be a mentalist?

Here's a little bit of how Amanda became my protege.

I'm getting to know Amanda

and she's getting to know some of my techniques.

Today, I'm going to bring her to the very place she's going to perform.

I'm going to teach her how to perform as a mentalist,

but obviously I'm not going to show any of it to you lot.

You're not getting this gift for Christmas! But I will show you this.

Mix them up as much as you like as well.

And whenever you're ready, I'd like you to go ahead

and start sticking letters onto that page.

Keeping your eyes closed.

I'm going to fold this up and, er,

if I could ask you to sign your name there for me.

-OK.

-As a mentalist,

you have to authenticate everything,

so Amanda must get used to signing all of her work.

I don't want what's coming out of your hand

to be the pictures in your head.

I just want you to do random shapes and random items

and random objects as you're thinking of things, OK?

Next, it's all about communicating visually,

and in this case, through pictures.

And again, I want you to think in shapes. This is all about shapes.

Only when Amanda has filled each page

do we move on to the next technique.

What sort of things were you thinking about?

Just as if I was walking through the shop.

Things that I would like that I can't afford.

The next two techniques are really challenging.

Backwards writing and writing with the opposite hand.

What's going through your head?

It's weird, holding the pen in my left hand.

This practice should bring Amanda closer to receiving The Gift.

Now, are you happy, Amanda?

You've made four sort of squiggly, weird, free association images here.

Some are words, some are letters, some are just random newsprint.

-Are you happy that that was all random?

-Yes.

-And you didn't think about what you were doing?

-No.

That's important. One of the biggest gifts that a mentalist has

-is his ability to seemingly predict the future.

-OK.

But I thought that if I told you I wanted you

to predict the future, you'd get nervous, you'd get confused,

you'd feel awkward and it might feel a lot more difficult

than it actually was.

So, I'm not going to ask you to do that now

cos I think you might have already done so,

cos what you don't realise

-is you've already made your prediction.

-Oh. OK.

-It's going to be one of these.

-Right.

So, Amanda, which one of these do you want?

Just pick it up.

-That one?

-Yeah.

Amanda, that is going to be your final prophecy.

And to make sure that there's no way

that anyone can tamper with your prophecy...

Inside here I have a bank security tube.

This is made from 6mm thick security plastic.

Banks use these to store birth certificates

and bank account details and things like.

So, Amanda, I'm going to ask you to take that prophecy

and pop it inside for me.

Pop it inside.

OK, Amanda. And that is going to be kept...

inside here.

In it goes. Yep, key out.

-Lovely.

-Key out?

-Yep, key out.

I want you to hang onto those keys, make sure no-one can get to it,

I need to take a moment to wish you good luck. How are you feeling?

Er...not very confident that that's going to predict anything,

but then, who knows?

All right, Amanda.

So this is for you.

'So I've done all I can do now.

'Hopefully I've chosen the right person

'and all of my coaching will pay off

'because from now on, it's all up to Amanda.'

APPLAUSE

Well, Amanda, did you enjoy that?

Er...no!

It's not great seeing yourself on TV.

How are you feeling about the experience?

Extremely nervous, but I'm really glad to be here.

We've had a lot of intensive training, so I believe

that will put you in some good stead.

Let me show you how this is going to work.

We have a ballot bowl here full of ballot tickets.

The tickets match the numbers

that people are wearing. 100 people were randomly assigned these

when they came in.

This is how you'll select your challenger.

I want you to reach in and give it a good mix up.

There are no duplicates in there.

Give it a good mix up and then select sort of four or five.

Any four or five that you like.

That's probably a nice little random sample from various places.

And I want you to select just one of those and give it to me.

Lovely. Excellent.

Now I want you to open the rest for me.

Open the rest and see just who you've got there.

We can look at a few of these. We've got 186 and 191.

186 and 191, raise your hands for me, please.

Not quite attractive enough for television.

We also have, what have we got? We've got 140 and 131.

The one that Amanda has selected to be her challenger is number 105.

105, raise your hand, please.

Make your way up to the front.

Now, number 105, I don't want to know your name

in case you think that someone backstage

is searching for you on Facebook.

-Are you a Facebook kind of guy?

-No.

-Didn't think so.

I need to check before we continue, have you and I ever met before?

-No.

-OK. Have you ever met Amanda before?

-No.

-OK.

I also want you to check

-she's got no hidden earpieces feeding her information.

-She hasn't.

Also, check there are no monitors feeding her information.

-No.

-Happy?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Amanda, it's over to you.

You're going to try to tell him a four-digit number, a PIN number.

-Are you thinking of your PIN number?

-I'm trying!

LAUGHTER Concentrate really, really hard

and I want you to put your hands out on the table

and I'm going to put my hands on your hands.

We're thinking of the first digit.

And I want you to start counting from zero through to nine

and keep going until I tell you to stop.

Zero, one, two,

-three...

-A wee bit faster.

-Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

He's being really, really difficult, aren't you?! Do it again, go ahead.

-Zero, one, two, four, five...

-You're all right? That's it.

-..seven, eight, nine.

-Hmm.

OK. There's nothing there, was there? You were trying really, really hard!

I know you were concentrating really, really hard.

-Is this your real PIN number?

-Yes.

That's why you were concentrating really hard!

I am going to take a wee guess.

-Is it two?

-That's right.

-Is it two, the first digit is two? Amanda!

APPLAUSE

Now we need to be absolutely clear.

-Is there anyway Amanda could know this?

-No way.

-Have you told anyone?

-No.

-This is a genuine secret?

-Keep going.

-I'm going to get you to stand up, if that's OK.

Can you stand up?

And give me hands again and we're going to put your arms out

and hold onto my hands

and same again, zero, through to nine. Quick!

-Zero, one, two, three...

-Go, go, go! Quick, quick! Go, go!

-Go, go, go, go!

-Whoops!

LAUGHTER

-Keep going.

-Zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

-Zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

-OK.

I think I've got it.

LAUGHTER

-You were a little wobbly with the hand on the six.

-That's correct.

-Really?

-APPLAUSE

So the second digit was a six? Amanda, anyone can guess numbers,

but I want to make this a little bit more difficult for you.

-Try and do the last two together.

-OK.

Now, you're relaxed, I'm going to take your hands again

and I want you to put your hands flat on my hands.

-So.. In your own time.

-Zero, one, two, three, four, five

-six, seven, eight...

-OK, I'm going to get you to stand up.

Carry on, carry on.

Right, we're on the last digit now. Last digit.

-You're thinking of the last digit.

-Four, five, six...

You're concentrating really hard. Right, I've got it. Is it 26?

-26, yeah.

-So hold on.

-APPLAUSE

-So you've guessed. What was your...?

-26...

-Yes.

-..is the last two digits.

Ladies and gentlemen... Sir, what is your name?

-Edgar.

-Give Edgar a round of applause.

Edgar. Thank you.

Now, Amanda, if someone had asked you, six weeks ago,

if you might be able to tell someone their PIN number,

a total stranger, what would you have said?

-Never in a million years.

-What does it feel like to have been able to do it?

-I don't believe that I've done it.

-All right, OK.

-Pure and simple.

-I assure you Edgar isn't an actor.

If he was, he would have been a much better performer! Let's try one more time.

I want you to select four or five and give one of them to me.

Is that two?

SHE MUMBLES

And let me see. Just one of them to me. Excellent. OK.

When you're ready. Take a few. Let's get a little look at those.

We have a few examples there.

Let me see. We've 170, we've got 163. 163, raise your hand.

163, raise your hand. No. This isn't the one that Amanda selected.

We've got 150 and 170.

The one that Amanda has selected out of them all is...

..number 111. 111.

Would 111 please raise their hand.

-APPLAUSE

-Please make your way to the front, madam.

Now.

One of the most difficult feats in mentalism is the ability to duplicate a thought.

Because anyone could work out a number someone is thinking of

through simple lie detection. But duplicating a thought is incredibly difficult.

For this we're going to need some easels.

Now, again, I don't want to know your name.

-That's important. We're only going to refer to you as 111, OK?

-OK.

In a moment, I'm going to ask both of you to stare at you easels.

You've got some markers. Go and stand, Amanda, in front of your easel.

You're going to fill the easels with a picture. Amanda is going to try

to duplicate your thought in real time.

But I want you to know she will try to put you off.

She'll call out random words and sayings and phrases

and the idea is they will try to catch you out or lead you off the beaten track.

-Your job is to try to stay focused and not let her influence you as you draw, OK?

-Yes.

And we're going to have a little bit of music as we do this. Maestro.

BAND PLAYS

Now, whenever you're ready, begin drawing.

-Is there any way Amanda could know what you're doing?

-No.

-OK.

-And, also, I would encourage you to look around you.

-Vegetables?

Any vegetables going on there, is there?

-No?

-No.

-No, no vegetables.

-I was thinking sweetcorn. No?

-No.

-You didn't have sweetcorn today or anything, no?

-No.

Erm... Cement mixer?

-No.

-No? You weren't thinking of a house, no?

-No.

-OK folks, time is up.

Markers down, markers down. Now, 111, if you could come round here.

Hold your drawing facing the front.

If you could just very simply describe. What have you drawn there?

-It's a scarf. Supposed to be.

-It's supposed to be a scarf. OK.

-It could be a ring road, who knows!

-Anything.

-Are you sure it's not a road, David?

-Sorry?

-Is she sure it's not a road?

-Are you sure it's not a road?

-No.

-All right.

-Were you thinking of road?

-No.

Why not? LAUGHTER

When you woke up this morning, you didn't know you would be doing something like this?

-No, definitely not.

-A crazy random thought?

-Yes.

-OK.

Amanda, how well did you do? Don't show anybody just yet. Hold it up against your chest.

Hold it up against yourself and walk out here for me,

just making sure you don't fall off.

Do you want to do the honours?

-I was... I changed my mind, I thought of a scarf.

-Let's see. Look!

Oh, ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Amanda. Oh my gosh.

Now, everyone will think that this is some sort of a set-up.

But have you been randomly selected? You've made a random picture

and there's no way anyone could have known?

-No-one could have known, no.

-And what is your name?

-Debbie.

-Let's hear it for Debbie. Thank you so much, Debbie.

APPLAUSE

Excellent.

Well, all I can say is that was absolutely incredible.

Amanda, you have done the two most difficult things in mentalism.

-Do you think all your training has paid off?

-It has! I got it right.

-You did an amazing job.

But I don't want to forget the other seven gift candidates.

Let's hear it for them. Let's hear it for the other seven.

Amanda, just pop over here.

The fact is, this journey would not have been possible

without all seven of you and I hope that you've had an interesting time.

We wouldn't have done it without you.

But the fact is, I don't want you to leave empty-handed.

When I think of Christmas, and this is all about Christmas, I always think of those presents

that, as a youngster, I always wanted but I didn't get.

Thank you, Mum. The red BMX!

All of those memories seem to build up in our minds.

So, if you don't mind, I'm going to ask you to think of a present

that you would have loved to have received as a child, but didn't get.

Take a couple of seconds to think about that.

I've never asked you this before so you're coming up with this on the spot.

If you don't mind, I will start with Naomi.

-If you could have any present, what would you love to have?

-Ballet shoes.

-Ballet shoes? OK.

All right. Jennifer?

Thomas the Tank Engine.

Thomas the Tank Engine. OK, that tells me a lot about you!

-Martin.

-I'm not sure I should say this, but Gummiberry juice.

-Gummiberry juice!

-LAUGHTER

Martin, you're right, you shouldn't have said that.

-Ciaran, your dream gift as a child, what is it?

-A robot that would make orange juice.

A robot that would make you orange juice.

Ciaran, I've seen a whole new side to you.

-OK. Lorna, what would you have?

-A doll.

Nathan, do you want the same doll?!

No.

-Um, I always wanted a bow and arrow, or something like that.

-A bow and arrow. OK.

We'll get to that in a moment. Sean, you can have anything in the world.

It was a Meccano set that would build itself.

-A Meccano set that would build itself.

-Yep.

Yes, it's important to aim high, Sean! That's the main thing.

Every single one of these gifts that you wanted tells me something hugely important about you.

And I want you all to leave here with something of a gift, this evening.

You've all got a present you've selected randomly.

Could we have the box down, please?

MAGICAL CHIMES SOUND EFFECT

Now...

Amanda, it's been yours and only your responsibility to make sure this hasn't been tampered with.

-You're happy you protected this?

-Yes.

-You're the only one who's got the keys?

No-one was able to break into your house and damage it at any point.

-Amanda, do have the keys?

-I do.

-OK. Give them to me, please.

-Excuse me.

Oh, jeepers.

LAUGHTER

-That is hugely excruciating. Can I turn around now?

-Yes, it's all over.

-HE LAUGHS

-Ah, they're warm, bless!

So are you happy that you made sure no-one could have tampered with this?

-Nobody could have got anywhere near them.

-Great. Let's just see.

Let's get this open.

And now I want to you to take that lock.

If you put that down on the end of the stage for me.

In here, we've got, Amanda, your prophecy.

Now, I want to make absolutely sure everyone knows

that no funny business is going to happen with this.

So, why don't we have all the guests down?

Bring your presents and stand where you like, welcome them all back for me, please.

APPLAUSE

You're all very welcome. This is Amanda's prophecy.

Your job is to be the eyes and ears to make sure

no switches or no funny business happen.

This is six millimetres thick, security plastic.

So be very careful not to cut your hands as I tip this out.

Folks, make sure this doesn't get switched or tampered with.

Amanda, let's see how close you got.

-This is your signature, you signed that?

-It is indeed, yes.

-Happy with that, it's been in your possession?

-100% mine.

OK, let's open this up and see just how well we did.

Sean, your job is going to be to read this out, please,

just to see how close we got.

My name is Amanda Stewart and my thoughts are...

Ballet shoes.

Train.

Gummi bear juice.

Robot. Doll.

Bow and arrow.

-Meccano, is that Meccano?

-It looks like Meccano, yes.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Amanda!

APPLAUSE

Incredible! Amanda, you did it.

You made a prophecy, a prediction that you didn't know you were making

about events that hadn't happened yet.

LAUGHTER

Amanda, it's such an amazing job, well done.

APPLAUSE

This has been undoubtedly the most difficult thing I've ever attempted.

And I've got to thank... I've just realised you don't have a present.

Get out of the way. There is one for you.

Folks, you've all got a present, you could have picked any present.

And you could have stood in any order as well,

would you please go ahead and open that box.

Truthfully, Ciaran, did you expect an orange juice making robot in that box?

LAUGHTER

Really, Ciaran? But folks, I've got a memory of what I think will be a special night.

If not only for me and Amanda, but for all of you as well

because these are the things we cherish at Christmas.

It is a bell and I'd like you to all hold it in the flat of your hand at about tummy height.

When I point at you, I want you to give it one single ding,

but only when I point at you, please, OK?

BELLS RING "DECK THE HALLS"

One more time.

BELLS RING "DECK THE HALLS"

# Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

You all could have chosen any box and could have stood in any order.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank everyone who's made this possible.

I'd like to thank the band.

I'd like to thank our seven participants.

I'd like to thank Amanda more than anyone, but I'd like to thank

all of you as well, the live studio audience and you at home.

And from everyone here, from me,

from Amanda, we'd like to wish you a very merry Christmas.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]