Derek Acorah
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| Derek Acorah | |
|---|---|
| Born | Derek Francis Johnson January 27, 1950 Liverpool, England |
Derek Acorah[1] (born 27 January 1950), is a well-known psychic medium and television personality in the UK. He has worked extensively in private readings, television, radio and theatre shows throughout the UK, Europe and USA.
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[edit] Biography
Derek lives near Southport in north west England with his wife Gwen. They share their home with their two dogs, Jack and Penny, and two cats, Mindy and Toby.
Over the years Derek has achieved international success with his television, radio and personal appearances across the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and the U.S.A. He has conducted telephone consultations for people as far south as India, Australia and New Zealand. In October 1997 he was invited to take part in a tour of the Middle East when he appeared at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dubai, the Brit Club in Abu Dhabi and Hotel Inter-Continental in the desert location of Al Ain.
Derek's first supernatural experience came as a child when the spirit of his late grandfather visited him. When young Derek told his grandmother she was not surprised as Derek was to learn that she herself was a medium. His early career was playing football with teams such as the legendary Bill Shankly's Liverpool Football Club and the then premier Australian team USC Lion.
When Derek's football career ended he returned to England and to his home town of Liverpool. He attempted finding a suitable niche in life but was never settled. His psychic powers were always with him and after a while he became a full time Spirit Medium based in his home city of Liverpool.
In the days when Derek was conducting one-to-one sittings, initially from a small shop premises in the Wavertree area of Liverpool and then subsequently from his office in Liverpool City Centre, nobody dreamed that the cheerful Scouse medium would one day grace their television screens. Only Derek and one or two noted mediums on the Liverpool circuit knew that Spirit "had something special" lined up for him. It was Lilian Star who first told him "I can see your name in lights". In those days Derek was surprised and wondered what on earth she meant. He had no idea that Mrs. Star's words would one day be borne out. All he had was his faith in the world and the word of Spirit.
As the years passed by, Derek's popularity grew. Word went far and wide about the medium from Liverpool - "Acorah" was his name - and he was "the best". It happened that one day a researcher for Granada Breeze, the satgellite arm of Granada Television in Manchester, telephoned Derek. She explained that she worked on a programme called "Livetime", a daily magazine programme presented by Becky Want. It being National Tea Week the following week, she had the idea that it would be different to invite a psychic on to the programme to talk about the reading of tea leaves. "But I'm not a tea leaf reader" was Derek's immediate response. The researcher was not interested in the finer points of psychic abilities. She explained that her aunt had visited Derek at his office and had received a superlative one-to-one reading. In her opinion only Derek would be able to fit the bill for the programme.
And so it happened that in 1996 Derek presented himself at the Granada Breeze studios in Manchester. That one appearance on "Livetime" was enough to send the telephone lines in to melt down. The programme makers were delighted. Derek was asked back for the following week. Every week for the next five years Derek Acorah was a regular feature on Granada Breeze Television. A new and groundbreaking programme was created called "Psychic Livetime" in which Derek was a main contributor. With the developing interest in the paranormal being evident, Granada Breeze also created two more programmes - "The Psychic Zone" and "Predictions with Derek Acorah". "Predictions" was the first television programme dedicated wholly to Derek Acorah. The programme was divided in to two sections, the first being Derek conducting readings for a small studio audience. In the second section Derek would be taken out to locations up and down the country where he would open himself up to the atmosphere and vibrations of the historic building in order to convey his findings in front of camera. He would also visit people who had contacted the television company in their own homes, conducting readings for them in front of the cameras.
Owing to the popularity of his contributions to these three programmes and to the fact that they were broadcast world wide, Derek's name became known in places as far flung as Australia, New Zealand and India. From all over Europe and the Middle East people would make contact in the hope of a reading live on air from Derek Acorah. Word soon also spread across the Atlantic to the United States of America.
In January 1998 Derek travelled to Los Angeles where he took part in various paranormal investigations both in Los Angeles itself and the fabled Hollywood. The pinnacle of the trip for Derek was appearing live on state at the old Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Three years later he was back in California where he shot the pilot of "Connections with Derek Acorah". This show involved Derek touring the streets of Santa Monica wowing the American public with messages from their loved ones in the world of spirit.
In July 2001 and just before the closure of Granada Breeze Television Derek was asked whether he would be kind enough to donate his services to the making of a proposed new television programme. It was to be called "Haunting Truths". He agreed to this request. The programme was sold to LivingTV and renamed "Most Haunted". Derek spent five series and numerous live events demonstrating his phenomenal gift of mediumship and in communication with some of Britain's most notorious spirits before deciding that it was time to move on.
Upon completion of series 5 in the autumn of 2004 Derek decided that he had done enough investigative mediumship in the format of the programme. Upon voicing his desire to leave "Most Haunted" LivingTV requested that he stay and complete series 6, together with Most Haunted Lives up to October 2005, thus ending his association at Hallowe'en in Hackney, London. There had been good times and there had been bad, and it was with no regret that Derek walked away on 1st November 2005.
He does remember with affection one highlight. In the autumn of 2004 whilst appearing live on stage at Torquay, Derek was shocked to be interrupted by the appearance of Dr. David Bull, the peoples' favourite presenter and anchor-man of "Most Haunted Live". David was there to present Derek with the Variety Club of Great Britain Multichannel TV Personality of the Year Award.
Of course Derek has not only been involved with "Most Haunted". In the Spring of 2003 LivingTV also commissioned IPN's "Antiques Ghost Show" - a programme which features Derek demonstrating psychometry as he unfolds the mysteries of family heirlooms. Initially aired in the UK, this programme has gone on to receive rave reviews from wherever it has been sold in the world.
[edit] Controversy
On several occasions the former "psychic medium" Derek Acorah was purportedly possessed by an entity, sometimes evil or sometimes "lost and confused". One such case which exposed Acorah was at Bodmin Gaol, Cornwall. Before the filming, Acorah had been fed misinformation about a non-existent ghost of Kreed Kafer by the show parapsychologist Dr. Ciaran O' Keeffe. During the investigation, which was later broadcast, he presented the information as fact and even behaved as though being possessed by the fictional ghost. O'Keeffe later revealed Kreed Kafer is an anagram of 'Derek Faker'[2] in a national newspaper. Even though O' Keeffe exposed Acorah, the paper also claimed that O' Keeffe had exposed the rest of the Most Haunted team. O'Keeffe later reported that he had been grossly misquoted and misrepresented in the article, and produced a response outlining his version of the show based on his observations and findings, saying he had exposed Derek Acorah and not the entirety of Most Haunted. The show's presenter and executive producer, Yvette Fielding said in an interview that she believes it was a fake possession[3].
Although not mentioned by O'Keeffe, the Mirror article also brought into question unedited footage which appeared to show Fielding and Karl Beattie faking 'paranormal' occurrences such as ghostly bumps and knocks. Fielding denied the claims. [2] Thus far none of this footage has come to light.
Further controversy centred on Derek Acorah again in the West Country, this time in Devon. On the first night filming "Terror in Torbay", Acorah mentioned a woman incarcerated by her jealous sister in the cellar of Lupton House, even coming up with the names Margaret and Eleanor. In this case, the facts were right, but the location was wrong. This is the well-known legend of Berry Pomeroy Castle which was to be the last night's location. On the final night, at Berry Pomeroy, Fielding reminded Acorah that he had mentioned the incarcerated sister two nights prior. Acorah glossed over his mistake and changed the subject.
An investigation was ordered by the Television Regulator in the UK, Ofcom, in which Most Haunted was cleared of any deception of its viewers, in which it stated that "Most Haunted is an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and should not be taken seriously."[4]
[edit] Further work
Upon leaving "Most Haunted", LivingTV did not want to lose Derek as an entertainer and so created "Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns". This was to be a different format to "Most Haunted" in that instead of concentrating on well known stately homes, castles, etc. the programme would involve the public and high-light their stories of ghostly activity in less well known locations throughout the country. Derek, together with the presenter, would also randomly knock on peoples' doors in order to offer them a private sitting in the comfort of their own home. Derek was joined for the first two series by Daniella Westbrook and Angus Purden, and for the third and final series, by Myleene Klass and Rhodri Owen.
The 5th November 2005 saw the 400th anniversary of The Gunpowder Plot. Together with Angus Purden, Derek travelled the country visiting key locations in order to retrace the footsteps of Guy Fawkes for the programme "Derek Acorah's Quest for Guy Fawkes.
In 2007 Derek travelled to Egypt where he filmed "Paranormal Egypt" with Tessa Dunlop. This six part programme was commissioned by LivingTV and produced by Ruggie Media. It was a fascinating programme which gave an insight into the lives and some of the mysteries surrounding the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.
2008 is as busy as ever. Derek has several new projects in the pipeline, not least of which is working with his good friend and ghost historian Richard Felix. After Richard and "Most Haunted" parted company, Derek and he got together and renewed their friendship. They had always enjoyed working together and decided that 2008 was the year for them.
Derek is also working on an exciting new project with internationally acclaimed regressionist, Alan Bates. Alan and Derek first worked together ten years ago and have recently come together in order to produce a theatre show fascinating in its content.
[edit] Parody
Acorah's fame and dramatic style of mediumship have been parodied by comedian Marc Wootton in his series High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman. Derek has also been parodied by John Culshaw on the TV series Dead Ringers and Dawn French's character 'Dawnie Acorah' also parodies him. His newer show, Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns, is often a subject for Harry Hill on his ITV1 show, Harry Hill's TV Burp. He was spoofed by Hugh Laurie on Saturday Night Live in a segment when Laurie hosted the show in 2006.
[edit] Books
Acorah has written numerous books explaining his experiences and detailing his life.
- The Psychic World of Derek Acorah: Discover How to Develop Your Hidden Powers - Derek Acorah with John G. Sutton, Paitkus Books, 2003
- 'The Psychic Adventures of Derek Acorah: Star of TV's "Most Haunted", Element Books 2004
- Ghost Hunting with Derek Acorah - Derek Acorah, Element Books, 2005
- Most Haunted: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Guide - Yvette Fielding, Derek Acorah, 2005
- Haunted Britain - Derek Acorah, Harper Element, 2006
- Haunted Britain and Ireland - by Derek Acorah
- Ghost Towns - Derek Acorah, Harper Element, 2006
- Derek Acorah's Amazing Psychic Stories - by Derek Acorah
- Derek Acorah - Extreme Psychic
[edit] References
- ^ Derek Acorah at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b Matt Roper (2005-10-28). SPOOKY TRUTH: TV'S MOST HAUNTED CON EXPOSED TV. The Mirror. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Metro UK, "60 SECONDS: Yvette Fielding" by James Ellis, The UK Metro, October 30, 2006, retrieved November 2, 2006.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4500322.stm
[edit] External links
- New Official site
- Derek Acorah at Double Exposure
- Derek Acorah at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Discussion Board
- Tribute To Derek Acorahs Ghost Towns
- Derek Acorah at BadPsychics.com
- Truth Seekers: The Mediums Community
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Derek Acorah |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Derek Francis Johnson (birth name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English television personality |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bootle, Liverpool, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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