In 2004 Sky One Launched a new Series of left field Alice in Wonderland type magic shows on Friday nights at 7pm entitled ‘Max Magic’ after the same name as the principal performer. The show also involved a 6 foot white rabbit and a dwarf magician. It became a hit prime time show and received a cult following.

The shows were centered around Max’s unique and inimitable brand of magic performance. Assuming the role of various comedy characters including a colloquial pet shop owner; a Russian Bar man desperate to marry into British Citizenship and a Scottish Highland New Age Palm Reader. The Scenarios and the magic grew out of Max’s interaction with the public in hidden camera locations. Max hit the unsuspecting public with magic that just seemed to happen around them. No one was safe, Max even targeted traffic wardens, watching from a distance dressed in overalls as they ticketed cars, he would run in, pretending to be the victim and change the ticket to a £50 or magically make their ticket machine penetrate through a locked car window. “ A joke is a joke, they would say, get my ticket machine off from that car dash board” To which Max would reply while walking away,“ I would love to, but that’s not my car, my car is the one over there…”

Max Magic gave Max the platform to engage in his favourite brand of Quirky Mental magical stunts bringing a smile to the faces of various celebrities including Stephen Fry; Aldo Zilli; Vicky butler-Henderson (5th Gear); Kirsty Galligher (Kirsty’s Home Videos) who found. Max’s distinctive Dickensian brand of Frock coat and Top hat coupled with his abstract style of performance all rather bemusing. In one episode he made Kirsty place her diamond ring in the mouth of a mackerel then proceeded to throw it to the pelicans. It finally turned up in a pelican egg. With Ricardo (The Salon) Max engaged in a roulette routine with 6 of the largest legal fireworks that can be detonated in the U.K. One of which was strapped to Max’s waist. Ricardo had the job of detonating five of them in attempt not to blow Max up!

Other strands included Sven the Great (Christian Lee), a washed up Swedish Magician who couldn’t get anything right, the Man eating Photocopy Machine. Fabulous Close up Magic strands from Joe Piper and a special appearance from Max in the ‘white room’ where Max’s dossier was to perform a longer routine straight to one camera and no cuts, so as to engage straight to the viewers in their own homes. Which he believed was the ultimate goal of any real TV magic show.

The Shows were made by Carlton and co created with the expertise of Ross Welford the Series Producer. Behind the scenes Scott Penrose, Paul Cook, and Robert Pound acted as the magical and technical advisers. Max’s constant striving for perfection in all the magical effects and constant pushing for original twists in all the performances which exemplify his brand of madness, proved a real challenge for the magical/production team who all found it to be an enriching experience. The fun happened both on and off camera, resulting in a fun, lighthearted, original, unique flagship magic show which still airs on various networks around the world as the best of it’s kind despite various other attempts to imitate the format. The ‘Max Magic’ format relies heavily on the brand of Max Somerset which drives it into unchartered waters, making it compelling viewing.