Derren Victor Brown
Born	Derren Victor Brown (1971-02-27) 27 February 1971 (age 41) Purley, London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Occupation	Psychological illusionist, mentalist, artist, painter, writer, sceptic, television presenter
Years active	1992-present
Website
www.derrenbrown.co.uk

Derren Victor Brown (born 27 February 1971)^[1] is an English illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions, photographic memory, and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat. Since the first broadcast of his show Derren Brown: Mind Control in 2000, Brown has become increasingly well known for his "mind-reading" act. He has written books for magicians as well as the general public. His caricature artwork has received gallery exhibition and is available in a single volume documenting his portrait collection.^[2]

Though his performances of mind-reading and other feats of mentalism may appear to be the result of psychic or paranormal practices, he claims no such abilities and frequently denounces those who do. Brown states at the beginning of his Trick of the Mind programmes that he achieves his results using a combination of "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship". Using his knowledge and skill, he appears to be able to predict and influence people's thoughts with subtle suggestion, manipulate the decision-making process and read the subtle physical and psychological signs or body language that indicate what a person is thinking.

Early life[link]

Brown was born to Bob and Chris Brown^[3] in Purley, South London, England. He has a brother, who is nine years his junior.^[4] Brown was educated at Whitgift School (where his father coached swimming),^[4] and studied Law and German^[5] at the University of Bristol.^[6] While there, he attended a hypnosis show by Martin S Taylor, which inspired him to turn to illusion and hypnosis as a career.^[7] Whilst an undergraduate, he started working as a conjuror, performing the traditional skills of close-up magic in bars and restaurants. In 1992, he started performing stage hypnosis shows at the University of Bristol under the stage name Darren V. Brown.^[8]

Television series[link]

[edit] Mind Control (2000–2003)

Brown began his television work with three sixty-minute specials produced over two years. In 1999 he was asked by Channel 4 to put a mind-reading programme together. The six part series Mind Control incorporated new footage with the best of his hour long shows. Selected highlights from the first series were later made available on DVD as Derren Brown — Inside Your Mind.

Andy Nyman was originally intended to front the programme but he wanted to concentrate on acting so Brown was recommended to the producers by comedian and close-up magician Jerry Sadowitz.^[9]

[edit] Trick of the Mind (2004–2006)

Trick of the Mind was the title for Brown's next series, which ran for three consecutive series. Unlike Mind Control it is all completely new material. The second series started on E4 on 11 April 2005 and was repeated on Channel 4. The third series started on 26 March 2006. Trick of the Mind series 1 and 2 are available on DVD.

[edit] Waking Dead

In an episode first broadcast on Friday 6 May Brown claimed to have created a video game called "Waking Dead" which "is able to put roughly 1/3 of the people who play it into a catatonic trance". The video game is then placed in a pub. Brown then "kidnaps" the catatonic "victim" and places him in a real-life recreation of the video game, having him fire an air gun at actors pretending to be zombies and outfitted with explosive squibs.^[10]

The episode raised considerable controversy. Mick Grierson, credited in the episode as "Zombie Game Designer", put up a website linking to various articles about the episode.^[11]

[edit] Trick or Treat (2007–2008)

Trick or Treat started on Channel 4 in 2007. The focus of the show is on one volunteer who receives either a good experience or a bad experience. The experience the volunteers receive is decided by which card they choose. If they choose the card that says 'Trick' they receive a bad experience, and if they choose the card that says 'Treat' they receive a good experience. In the first series of Trick or Treat, the volunteer had no choice over the matter as the cards were ambigrams; however, in the second series, they were replaced by two more clearly defined cards that were no longer ambigrams.

Episodes of Trick or Treat are not preceded by Brown's usual claim that no actors or stooges were used in the filming of the shows. Indeed, some participants (such as the ambulance crew in the last episode) are declared to be actors.

The second series of Trick or Treat began on 2 May 2008. The third episode showed a slight change from the previous format, as actor David Tennant became the first celebrity to be used for the show. The two had met at a party where Tennant expressed interest in Brown's work. While writing the second season Brown "thought it would be fun if one of the participants was well known".^[12]

The final episode of the second series featured all of the volunteers from the series that had previously received a trick or treat. This episode highlighted belief in superstition and the degree to which it can be applied.

[edit] Mind Control with Derren Brown (2007)

On 26 July 2007, the US based SCI FI Channel began showing six one-hour episodes of a series titled Mind Control with Derren Brown. Andrew O'Connor and Anthony Owen were executive producers, and the show was produced by Simon Mills who had produced the two previous series of Trick Or Treat as well as The Heist and The System for Objective Productions. Journalists in New York at the press announcement were shown preview clips of Brown "manipulating human behaviour" and given the promise of more surprises to come. Sci Fi's press release described the show as an "original US produced version". The show was a mix of new segments filmed in the US and older clips shown in earlier UK TV shows. The first showing release schedule was:

• Episode 1: "Shopping Mall Carpark" 26 July
• Episode 2: "Lying Car Salesman" 2 August
• Episode 3: "Exotic Dancers" 8 August
• Episode 4: "Receptive Children" 15 August (with Simon Pegg as a guest star)
• Episode 5: "Assault Course" 22 August
• Episode 6: "Disappearing Sun" 29 August

[edit] Derren Brown: The Events (2009)

Filmed for Channel 4 in front of a live studio audience, this new series, airing in September 2009^[13] was made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempted what he described as "some of the most incredible feats to date". The show consisted of a mixture of pre-recorded location pieces connected by theatre-based segments, with each of the four one-hour programmes building up to a major stunt performance. The first teasers broadcast were shown backwards. When played forwards, Brown explained that in his new series he would be revealing the "inner workings" of his tricks and showing the viewer "how to get away with it".

The stunts included a live TV broadcast in which Brown suggested that he had successfully predicted the winning National Lottery numbers, and another in which Brown played a subliminal video suggesting that viewers at home would feel that they had become stuck to their sofas. Brown also projected an image into viewers' minds and asked them draw it on paper. The series' final event was an attempt to predict the outcome of a roulette wheel, staking £5,000 of a chosen viewer's money on the outcome. The ball landed in the pocket numbered 30, adjacent to Brown's choice of 8.

[edit] Derren Brown Investigates (2010)

Derren Brown Investigates began a run of three programmes on Channel 4 on 10 May 2010. During the first program, Brown met with British psychic medium Joe Power.^[14] A second programme concerned a Ukrainian system of human development that claims to teach people to see without the use of their eyes, and in a third he met a "ghosthunter" from the United States. With these people he discussed their claims to have evidence of the paranormal.

[edit] Derren Brown: The Experiments (2011)

Derren Brown: The Experiments was announced on 4 October 2011 on his official blog. Described by Brown as a series of "ambitious sociological experiment, in which the unwitting subject is a single person, a crowd, or even an entire town". Brown mentions that 'Three of [the episodes] are relatively dark, looking into the darker side of human behaviour, and one of them is rather positive and jolly' on his blog.

The first episode, entitled "The Assassin", aired on 21 October at 9pm and consists of Brown successfully hypnotising an unwitting member of the public to 'assassinate' a celebrity revealed to be Stephen Fry. This technique was used as a comparison to theories regarding the assassination of Robert Kennedy by Sirhan Sirhan, who claims to have no memory of the event.

In the second episode, aired on 28 October at 9pm and called "Gameshow", Brown hosted a game show purportedly called "Remote Control," asking a masked audience to vote for the escalating outcome of the fate of one contestant in an attempt to demonstrate the effect of deindividuation. The theory is that taking away individuality from someone turns them from themselves to just part of a crowd, and makes them act in a way that would sometimes go against their morals.

In the third episode, "The Guilt Trip" aired on 5 November, Brown attempted to find out if he could convince someone through association to admit to a crime they did not commit. He worked through tricking a participant into distrusting their own memory and having excessive feelings of guilt, to the extent where he confessed to the murder of an actor whom he had interacted with and was later told had been murdered.

In the fourth episode, "The Secret of Luck" which aired on 11 November, Brown spreads a rumour of a lucky dog statue throughout an entire town and documents the consequences.

The trailer for "The Experiments" was released on 11 October 2011.

The Experiments won a BAFTA at the 2012 awards in May 2012.

Television specials[link]

[edit] Derren Brown Plays Russian Roulette Live (2003)

On 5 October 2003, Brown performed Russian roulette, live on Channel 4. The stunt was performed at an undisclosed location, supposedly in Jersey, due to laws in mainland Britain restricting the firing of live rounds to qualified armourers. The majority of the episode focused upon the nomination of the final volunteer, James, who was chosen from 12,000 who applied for the task, and whittled down to five by the day of the stunt. As a prize, James was chosen to be the only person in the room when Brown performed the stunt. James was required to load a single shot into a revolver with six numbered chambers. The bullet was located in chamber number 1, which Brown fired at a sand bag hanging on the wall.

The programme was initially condemned by senior British police officers, apparently fearful of copycat acts. In addition Jersey police stated that "There was no live ammunition involved and at no time was anyone at risk" and "There is absolutely no way that the States of Jersey police would allow anybody to put themselves at risk and shoot themselves dead."^[16] When asked about the possible use of blanks in the act Brown responded, "But the frustrating and kind of ironic part of it was that even if it had been a blank that wouldn’t have made it any less dangerous. You shoot a blank next to your head and it will still kill you.”^[17]

Brown himself defended the programme, saying, "It probably sounds odd. But as a magic-related performer, to have that even being asked: Was it real? Was it not real? That lifts it to a level that I'm very comfortable with. What's left is the fact that it was a terrific piece of television."^[18]

[edit] Derren Brown: Séance (2004)

Brown's next project, Derren Brown: Séance, aired on Channel 4 on 31 May 2004. In Séance, he brought students from Roehampton University together for a live séance. He held the event at Elton Hall in east London, claiming the location had a history of paranormal activity after 12 people killed themselves in a suicide pact in 1974. Brown then proceeded to demonstrate the methods used by spiritualists.

The show attempted to involve the television audience with interactive activities, the first being to identify one of the members of the suicide pact by looking at photographs. The 12 pictures were shown on screen in a set pattern, with half of them in colour and half black and white. The viewer was instructed to choose one of the colour images that they "feel a connection with". Brown then directed the viewers in a movement pattern between the photographs (for example, move left or right to one of the adjacent black and white photographs). The positioning and movement instructions were carefully planned to ensure that no matter which photograph was initially chosen the viewer would finish on the picture of "Jane". Ten of the students also chose Jane. During the following Ouija board scene, the "spirit" guided the students to spell the name Jane.

Two of the students, along with the television viewers, were asked to write the name of a city. Both students chose London.

The final scene, the séance itself, saw the group "contact" Jane. One of the students spoke as if she were Jane, giving details of her life. A letter and short film confirmed the accuracy of the details.

Brown went on to explain some of the manipulations he had used, including the photograph positioning/instructions and the use of the ideomotor effect during the Ouija board scene. The suicide pact had not taken place and "Jane" was introduced to the students at the end of the show. In his book, Tricks of the Mind, Brown reveals that, contrary to claims when the show was aired, Séance did not go out live. He said it was necessary to make people believe that it did at the time.^[19]

Channel 4 received 700 complaints, most before the episode was aired. Viewers who felt "something unusual" were invited to call a telephone number, and callers were told that the show was carefully planned, and that no paranormal activities were taking place. Brown also warned viewers about the impending Ouija board scene, advising those who objected for "religious reasons or otherwise" to stop watching the show.^[19]

[edit] Derren Brown: Messiah (2005)

Shown on 7 January 2005, Brown travelled to the United States to try to convince five leading figures that he had powers in their particular field of expertise: Christian evangelism, alien abduction, psychic powers, New Age theories and contacting the dead.

Using a false name each time, he succeeded in convincing all of the "experts" that he had powers, and four openly endorsed him as a true practitioner. The fifth expert, the Christian evangelist Curt Nordhielm, whilst impressed by Brown's performance, asked to meet him again before giving an endorsement. The concept of the show was to highlight the power of suggestion with regard to beliefs and people's abilities, and failure to question them. Brown made it quite clear with each experiment that if any of the subjects accused him of trickery he would immediately come clean about the whole thing, a rule similar to one of the self-imposed rules of the perpetrators of the Project Alpha hoax. His conclusion was that people tend to hear only things that support their own ideas and ignore contradictory evidence; this is known in psychology as confirmation bias. During the section concerned with religious belief, he 'converted' people to Christian belief with a touch. Afterwards, he 'deprogrammed' them of any such belief. During the programme, Brown made it clear that he was not against people holding on to their religious beliefs, and stated that he respected the religious views of people, also making it clear that he had, at one time, been a committed Christian.

[edit] Derren Brown: The Gathering (2005)

The Gathering was a specially recorded as-live show at a secret location (hidden from the audience) with an invited audience of students from Roehampton University, celebrities, psychologists, psychics, taxi drivers and magicians. It was filmed on 18 May 2005 and broadcast on 29 May. As part of the show Brown recalled streets, page numbers and grid references from the Greater London A-Z map. Pseudo-psychic "mind reading" and "remote viewing" activities were also recreated.

During the show, Brown hypnotised the audience as a group and convinced them that for approximately half an hour after leaving the room they would have no memory of the events. Furthermore, the word "forget" was intermittently flashed very briefly on the backdrop throughout the performance. A variety of audience members were interviewed in a vox pop segment afterwards; some could not recollect anything, but were nevertheless impressed. One of the most prominent stunts was asking a London taxi driver to choose a street in London and then choose and mentally drive a random route. This was achieved by drawing a line on a map of London made of stuck together A-Z pages. An envelope, which had been visible on-stage throughout the entire show, was then opened. This contained a card listing the page number and coordinate of the destination, an acetate with the route marked on it and a receipt for £8 (the estimated cost of the journey by the driver). The driver's route started at Buckingham Palace and ended at Shepherd's Bush Green, the street where the secret performance took place.

[edit] Derren Brown: The Heist (2006)

The Heist was shown on 4 January 2006 at 21:00, on Channel 4. In the show, Brown used his skills on selected participants who answered an advertisement. Under the guise of a "motivational seminar" (where they would allegedly learn Brown's skills) Brown recruited a number of participants, eventually manipulating a number of them into robbing a security van in broad daylight. "The Heist" has been described by Brown as one of the stunts of which he is most proud.^[20]

The robbery involved holding up a security van and guard (played by an actor) using a realistic-looking toy pistol that Brown had given the subjects earlier, and stealing a case filled with real money. Four people were selected to carry out the robbery from an initial field of thirteen, with three of them actually carrying out the "robbery". The idea was that, after the conditioning they received, they would voluntarily rob the van of their own accord. There was no mention of the "crime" to the participants, and they were not (directly) instructed to do it. The "robbery" was carried out as a result of the conditioning they received and was their own choice, not because of instructions from any third party, including Brown.

Brown associated colour, music and phrases to build the participants into a highly motivated state, converging all of those psychological empowerment tools into a single set-up. The seminar subliminally anchored freedom, childhood, opportunity and romance into various criminal acts. After having previously been convinced to steal sweets from a shop based in Codicote High Street in Hertfordshire, they experienced the euphoria that could be gained from criminal acts.

This programme also included a re-enactment of the Milgram experiment — originally carried out by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s — with the aim of selecting four of the most obedient of the group. Sixty-five percent of the subjects in this experiment were willing to administer what they believed to be lethal electric shocks to another person on the instruction of an authority figure (unbeknownst to the subjects, no electric shocks were actually administered). These were roughly the same results Milgram himself had observed.

[edit] Derren Brown: The System (2008)

The System, a Channel 4 special in which Brown shared his "100 percent guaranteed" method for winning on the horses, was first shown on 1 February 2008.^[21]

The show was based around the idea that a system could be developed to "guarantee a winner" of horse races. Cameras followed a member of the public, Khadisha, as Brown anonymously sent her correct predictions of five races in a row, before encouraging her to place as much money as she could on the sixth race.

To demonstrate the system to the viewer, Brown tossed a coin showing ten heads in a row to prove it was not impossible, just highly improbable.

After Brown had placed a bet of £4,000 of Khadisha's money on a horse in the final race, he explained that "The System" did not really exist. He had started by contacting 7,776 people and split them into six groups, giving each group a different horse. As each race had taken place ⁵⁄₆ of the people had lost and were dropped from the system. Brown had a different person backing each horse in each race, and one individual, Khadisha, won five times in a row. This was similar to the coin flipping earlier: rather than having a predictive technique, Brown had tossed a coin repeatedly until ten heads had come up in a row, taking over nine hours to produce the required film. Brown expressed the opinion that the principle behind "The System" (essentially confirmation bias or survivorship bias) is what is behind belief in spiritualism or homoeopathic and alternative medicine.

After the selected horse in the final race lost, and Khadisha was convinced that she had lost all her borrowed money, Brown told Khadisha to look again at the betting slip in her hand. The ticket showed the winning horse's name, meaning Khadisha kept her stake and received winnings of £13,000. Brown claimed that he had decided to bet on a different horse when he got to the booth.^[22]

At the end of the show, a title card explained that "at each stage of the process, participants who did not make it to the next round were offered a complete refund of any bets they had placed."^[23]

[edit] Derren Brown: Hero at 30,000 Feet (2010)

On 8 September 2010, Brown presented a new special on Channel 4 entitled "Derren Brown: Hero at 30,000 Feet".^[24] The programme consisted of Brown taking a man called Matt Galley, a normal person stuck in a rut in his life, and throughout the programme coaches him to take control of life and achieve his aspirations. The programme was divided into chapters to introduce different stages in the transformation, many of which were undertaken without the subject knowing of Brown's involvement (via cooperation with Galley's parents and girlfriend to set up cameras in his house). At one stage Brown visits Galley in the middle of the night, but leaves him believing it was a dream.

During the programme Galley is put through a series of challenges, including being the victim of an armed robbery, touching a live crocodile, illicitly entering a policeman's home, and lying on a train track in a straitjacket strapped to the line whilst a train approached (the first challenge when he knew he was awake and that Brown was involved in this). The show culminated in Galley travelling on a plane where the pilot had supposedly been incapacitated.

Galley, who had not been on a plane in 10 years and had a fear of flying, joined a flight travelling from Leeds to Jersey, where he has been told that a fake game-show presented by Brown was to be filmed. The flight crew, stewards and stewardesses were real, but the rest of the passengers were actors. During the flight the cabin crew announced that the captain had been taken ill and asked for a volunteer to land the plane. At the last minute Galley volunteered, whilst walking up to the front of the plane he was placed into a trance by Brown. After landing Galley was placed into a cockpit flight simulator and woken up. He was talked through how to land the plane by a person identifying themselves as air traffic control. Galley completed the challenge successfully and then emerged from the simulator, to meet Brown and all the actors involved in the programme plus his family and friends.

Brown responded to scepticism about the show on his blog, noting that many aspects of the show's production were edited from the televised version due to time constraints. He also confirmed Donnie Darko, Fight Club, The Game and Watchmen as influences for the show. Brown went on to say that "this has been my favourite show to work on – most ambitious, most involved, most demanding and by far the most joyful. I consider it my fondest and best...."^[25]

[edit] Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale (2011)

Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale is a feature length programme about the controversial practice of faith healing. In the show Brown attempted to turn a member of the British public into a "faith healer" and to convincingly give a faith healing show to church goers in Texas.^[26] The show premièred 25 April 2011 on Channel 4.

Other television appearances[link]

An interview with Brown^[27] was featured in Richard Dawkins' two-part documentary series The Enemies of Reason. Brown explained various psychological techniques used by purported psychics and spiritual mediums to manipulate their audiences. The most notable is cold reading, a technique about which Brown talked extensively in his book Tricks of the Mind. Some video footage was also used from Brown's TV special Messiah.

As part of Channel 4's 3D season, Brown presented Derren Brown's 3D Magic Spectacular.^[28][29] The show was not a new special from Brown, rather he was the presenter for a number of other magicians and clips that were shown. However, he did include one clip in which he found an object that had been hidden in the streets of Venice by a volunteer.

In January 2011, to celebrate 10 years since the his first television appearance, Channel 4 held a special Derren Brown Night. Along with re-showing The Heist (which won a recent poll of favourite specials) and one of his Enigma Live shows the channel screened a special documentary; Derren Brown: Behind The Mischief, a personal and candid film about Brown. The documentary included the story of how he met his co-writer (who was featured in Seance), his mother's feelings about his involvement in Russian Roulette, and an emotional visit back to his old school, university and the Bristol bars where he first began his close-up magic. Celebrities contributors included Matt Lucas, Jo Whiley, Stephen Merchant and Simon Pegg.

Stage shows[link]

[edit] Derren Brown Live (2003–2004)

Brown's first live stage show was Derren Brown Live, which he performed in the UK in 2003. The tour was then extended into 2004.

[edit] Something Wicked This Way Comes (2005–2006)

Brown's second live stage show, Something Wicked This Way Comes, toured around the UK following its success in the West End. The tour began in March 2005 at the Cambridge Theatre and finished in May at the Hammersmith Apollo. The run was then once more extended into the following year, being performed and filmed for a final time at the Old Vic Theatre in mid-June 2006.

A 90-minute edit of this show was broadcast on 29 December 2006, 10 June 2007 and 17 June 2008 on Channel 4, on 10 May 2008, 17 Jan 2009 and 6 Jan 2012 on E4; a longer, unedited version was released on DVD in May 2008. The show won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Show 2006. The show was co-written and directed by his long time collaborator Andy Nyman. The title is a direct quote from William Shakespeare's Macbeth; Act 4, scene 1, line 45.

[edit] Mind Reader – An Evening of Wonders (2007–2008)

Brown's third live stage show toured the United Kingdom in 2007 and 2008. "Derren Brown, Mind Reader — An Evening of Wonders", began 29 April 2007 in Blackpool, and ended 17 June in Bristol.

The show toured again from February until April 2008 throughout the UK, and concluded with a West End run at the Garrick Theatre during May and early June. The West End run was a strictly limited season of 32 performances only. A performance from the last week of the tour at the Garrick Theatre was filmed for Channel 4 and aired on 13 January 2009.

[edit] Derren Brown – Enigma (2009–2010)

Enigma is the name of Brown's 2009/10 stage tour, directed by Andy Nyman. It began in Chatham on Friday 17 April 2009, visiting various UK towns before ending in London with a month at the Adelphi Theatre starting Monday 15 June 2009. The show includes Brown attempting to put the entire audience into a trance (he makes it clear this is not hypnotism and will not affect everyone). At the end of the show Brown requests that audience members, particularly reviewers and the press, do not reveal the show's secrets and surprises to others to avoid spoiling the fun. The show toured the UK again during the first half of 2010. Enigma was nominated for an Olivier award on 8 February 2010, Brown's second nomination for an Olivier following his 2006 show Something Wicked This Way Comes.^[30] It was announced on Brown's blog that Enigma will be released on DVD as part of a box set containing three of his live shows Something Wicked This Way Comes, An Evening of Wonders and Enigma ready for a January 2011 release. Enigma was shown on Channel 4 on 6 January 2011 before the release of the box set.^[31] It also aired on both 7 and 8 January 2011, the latter forming a part of 'Derren Brown Night'.

[edit] Svengali

Advertisement for Svengali, Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Derren Brown's 5th tour, entitled Svengali, opened on 9 March 2011 in Brighton and is planned to run until at least August 2012.^[32] It is Brown's first show that is not written in collaboration with Andy Nyman.

Books[link]

Brown has written four books on magic: Absolute Magic, Pure Effect, Tricks of the Mind, and Confessions of a Conjuror. The first two books he penned are intended solely for practitioners of magic and mentalism, whilst his books Tricks of the Mind and Confessions of a Conjuror are aimed at the general public.

Absolute Magic, subtitled A Model for Powerful Close-Up Performance, is not so much about magical methodology as about how magicians can make their performances magical; it is written in a variety of styles: sometimes humorous, sometimes serious. He warns against an act that conveys the feeling of "Here are some tricks I've bought" and urges magicians to make their performances experiential and memorable by involving the audience. In some respects a lot of what he says is evocative of the content of Darwin Ortiz's Strong Magic but his book expresses it in the context of his experiences, performance style and theories of how performance should be. (Out of print)

Pure Effect is a more traditional book of trickery and technique and offers an insight into some of the methods that Brown employs, and offers a starting point for development for the reader's own use. (Out of print)

Tricks of the Mind is Brown's first book intended for the general public. It is a wide-ranging book in which Brown reveals some of the techniques he uses in his performances, delves into the structure and psychology of magic and discusses hypnosis. He also applies his insight to the paranormal industry, looking at the structure of beliefs and how psychology can explain why people become 'true believers'. He also offers autobiographical stories about his own experiences as a former Christian, and discusses his scepticism about religion, allegedly 'psychic' mediums and sundry other belief systems.

Confessions of a Conjuror was published by Channel 4 Books in October 2010. (ISBN 978-1-905-02657-9)

Other productions and publications[link]

Brown has recorded some audio extracts from Tricks of the Mind. In them he expounds on the three subjects essential to his performance—Magic, Memory, and Hypnosis. The extracts last around 40 minutes each, disclosing tips and techniques Brown uses in his acts (as well as day-to-day) and narrating the highlights of his book.

The Devil's Picturebook is a near 3 hour home-made video. The first half explains in detail some classic card routines from his earlier career as a conjurer, all of which rely on sleight of hand, misdirection and audience management. The second looks at psychological card routines and shows a distinct move towards mentalism, for which he is now known. It is an instructional video for aspiring magicians and not an entertainment piece. For this reason, it was available only to practitioners through a password-protected "magicians only" area of his website. The clue to the password tells you that the word itself begins with T and is a type of palming trick.^[33]

International Magic Presents: The Derren Brown Lecture is an 80-minute lecture DVD of close-up mentalism and subsequent discussion of various aspects of Brown's performance. Again, this product is not intended for general consumption but is directed at magicians and mentalists only.

In 2007, Brown performed in the short film Medium Rare.^[34]

In 2008, Brown made a guest acting appearance in BBC Four's Crooked House as Sir Roger Widdowson.^[35]

In 2008, Brown provided caricatures for "The QI "F" annual".

In 2009, a book, Portraits, was released containing a selection of Brown's paintings and bizarre caricatures of celebrities.

In 2010, Brown appeared in a special Comedy Gala for Channel four and Great Ormond Street Hospital. He appeared with Kevin Bishop, who played his jealous annoying twin 'Darren'.

DVD releases[link]

Criticism[link]

In a Daily Telegraph article published in 2003 Simon Singh criticised Brown's early TV appearances, arguing that he presented standard magic and mentalism effects—such as the classic Ten Card Poker Deal trick—as genuine psychological manipulation.^[36] On Brown's television and live shows he often appears to show the audience how a particular effect was created—claiming to use techniques such as subliminal suggestion, hypnosis, and body language reading. Singh's suggestion is that these explanations are dishonest. Furthermore, Singh took exception to the programme's website being categorised under Channel 4's "Science" section. The mini-site was moved to Entertainment for later series.

In an October 2010 interview, Brown conceded that Singh may have had a point, explaining that at the start of his television career "I was overstating the case, overstating my skills. I thought there'll only be one show, there'll never be a repeat, so I might as well go for it."^[37] In his book Tricks of the Mind, Brown writes,

"I am often dishonest in my techniques, but always honest about my dishonesty. As I say in each show, 'I mix magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship'. I happily admit cheating, as it's all part of the game. I hope some of the fun for the viewer comes from not knowing what's real and what isn't. I am an entertainer first and foremost, and I am careful not to cross any moral line that would take me into manipulating people's real-life decisions or belief systems."

Brown claims to never use actors or "stooges" in his work without informing the viewers. In Tricks of the Mind, Brown writes that to use such a ploy is "artistically repugnant and simply unnecessary"; furthermore, he "would not want any participant to watch the TV show when it airs and see a different or radically re-edited version of what he understood to have happened".^[19]

Methods[link]

Brown claims to use a variety of methods to achieve his illusions including traditional magic/conjuring techniques, memory techniques, hypnosis, body language reading, cognitive psychology, cold reading and psychological, subliminal (specifically the use of PWA – "perception without awareness") and ideomotor suggestion.

Psychological illusions[link]

In an interview published in New Scientist, Brown says that he first developed many of his "psychological illusion" skills through his training in hypnotherapy before he was involved in learning close-up magic. When asked how he was able to produce various psychological illusions such as apparent mind-reading, lie detection and hypnotic induction, Brown claimed to be able to read on subtle cues such as a micro-muscle movements that indicate to him if someone is lying or holding something back. He also states that his participants are carefully selected based on their suggestibility and responsiveness which is common in stage hypnosis. He believes that the presence of a television camera also increases responsiveness.^[38]

Neuro-linguistic programming[link]

Several authors have claimed that Brown uses neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in his act which "consists of a range of magical 'tricks', misdirection and, most intriguing, setting up audiences to provide the response that he wishes them to provide by using subtle subliminal cues in his conversation with them."^[39] In response to the accusation that he unfairly claims to be using NLP whenever he performs, Brown writes "The truth is I have never mentioned it outside of my book". Brown does have an off-stage curiosity about the system, and discusses it in the larger context of hypnotism and suggestion.^[19][40] In his book "Tricks of the Mind" he mentions that he attended an NLP course with Richard Bandler, co-creator of NLP and mentor of Paul McKenna, but suggests that the rigid systems of body language interpretation employed by NLP are not as reliable as its practitioners imply. He also mentions the NLP concept of eye accessing cues as a technique of "limited use" in his book "Pure Effect".^[41] The language patterns which he uses to suggest behaviours are very similar in style to those used by Richard Bandler and by the hypnotist from whom Bandler learned his skill, Milton H. Erickson. Brown also mentions in his book 'Tricks of the Mind' that NLP students were given a certificate after a four-day course, certifying them to practice NLP as a therapist. A year after Brown attended the class, he received a number of letters saying that he would receive another certificate, not for passing a test (as he discontinued practising NLP following the course), but for keeping in touch. After ignoring their request, he later received the new certificate for NLP in his mailbox, unsolicited.^[42]

Personal life[link]

Brown was an Evangelical Christian in his teens, but became an atheist in his twenties. This is discussed by Brown in the "Messiah" special, and in his book Tricks of the Mind.^[19] In an interview with Professor Richard Dawkins, Brown explained he sought to strengthen his belief and provide answers to common criticisms of religion by reading the Bible and other Christian religious texts, but upon doing so found none of the answers he sought and came to the conclusion that his belief (in Christianity) had no basis.^[43]

The Big Issue website described Brown as being "playfully mendacious".^[44] Although it has been said that Brown is banned from every casino in Britain,^[45] other sources report that casinos welcome the publicity from his visits.^[44]

In an interview with the Independent in 2007 Brown stated that he is gay.^[46] In an interview with the Radio Times in 2011 Brown talked more about his sexuality, stating that he is blissfully happy in a relationship. He said, "I spent a lot of time thinking about me and working on what I wanted to be before I came into a relationship. In some ways, it’s bad because you come into relationship quite late without a lot of experience and you have a lot to learn. But that can also be exciting. Certainly, it’s lovely to have somebody love you and it’s lovely to love someone else." ^[47]

Since 2004 Brown has been the patron of the registered charity the Parrot Zoo Trust at Friskney in eastern Lincolnshire near Boston, England.^[48] In an interview with LeftLion magazine he said "I’m a big fan of parrots – I think they’re fascinating creatures. Many of them live for longer than us humans and it's interesting to me the way they learn to mimic human voices even though they don't really comprehend what they're saying."^[49]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Derren Brown

• Brown, Derren at the Open Directory Project
• Official website
• Derren Brown at Channel 4
• Derren Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• "SCI FI Channel's official Derren Brown show site". Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080201163707/http://www.scifi.com/derrenbrown/. 

Jamie Oliver
MBE

Oliver in Union Square in New York City, 2008
Born	James Trevor Oliver (1975-05-27) 27 May 1975 (age 37) Clavering, Essex, England
Cooking style	Fresh and Organic, Italian cuisine, British cuisine
Education	Westminster Kingsway College
Spouse	Juliette Norton (m. 2000) «start: (2000-06-24)»"Marriage: Juliette Norton to Jamie Oliver" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jamie_Oliver)
Current restaurant(s) Fifteen Jamie's Italian
Television show(s) Oliver's Twist Jamie's School Dinners Jamie's Great Italian Escape Naked Chef Jamie's Kitchen Jamie's Chef Jamie at Home Jamie's Fowl Dinners Jamie's Ministry of Food Jamie's American Road Trip Jamie's Family Christmas Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Jamie's Dream School Jamie Does 30 Minute Meals
Official website
jamieoliver.com

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, MBE (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools. He strives to improve unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Jamie Oliver's speciality is Italian cuisine, although he has a broad international repertoire.

Life and career[link]

Jamie Oliver was brought up in Clavering, Essex, England. His parents ran a pub, "The Cricketers", where he used to practise in the kitchen.^[1] He was educated at Newport Free Grammar School. He left school at age sixteen without qualifications and went on to attend Westminster Kingsway College, formerly Westminster College.^[1][2] He then earned a City & Guilds NVQ in home economics.

His first job was as a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio's Neal's Yard restaurant, where he first gained experience with preparing Italian cuisine, and developed a relationship with his 'mentor' Gennaro Contaldo.^[2] Oliver then moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef.

It was there where he was noticed by the BBC in 1997 after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, "Christmas at the River Cafe".^[3] That year, his show The Naked Chef debuted and his cookbook became a number one best-seller in the UK.^[4] That same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for then Prime Minister Tony Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.^[4]

Personal life[link]

In July 2000, Oliver married former model Juliette Norton.^[5] The couple met in 1993 and have four children: Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver (born 18 March 2002), Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver (born on 10 April 2003), Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (born on 3 April 2009)^[6] and Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver (born on 15 September 2010).^[7] Oliver announced the births of the two youngest children on Twitter.^[8][9] The family lives in Clavering, Essex.^[10]

Ancestry[link]

In 2009 Oliver claimed to be of partial Sudanese ancestry via his great-great grandfather John, whom he described as “a bit swarthy with curly hair”.^[11] However, research for the Sunday Express established that John's father James was a hatter from Penzance, and that James' father Richard was also Cornish, leaving little or no possibility of a Sudanese connection. The family legend of Sudanese ancestry may have originated in the 19th century when John Oliver returned from sea, possibly with a tanned complexion after visiting Africa.^[12]

Notable career milestones[link]

In 2000, Oliver became the face of the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's through an endorsement deal worth $2 million a year.^[4] After 11 years the partnership between Oliver & Sainsbury's ended. The final television advertisement was for Christmas 2011.^[13]

Oliver created Fifteen in 2002. Each year, fifteen young adults who have a disadvantaged background, criminal record or history of drug abuse, are trained in the restaurant business.^[14]

In 2003, he was awarded an MBE.^[15]

In 2005, he initiated a campaign called "Feed Me Better" in order to move British schoolchildren towards eating healthy foods and cutting out junk food. As a result, the British government also pledged to address the issue. Delving into politics to push for changes in nutrition resulted in people voting him as the "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005," according to a Channel 4 News annual viewer poll.^[4]

His emphasis on cooking healthily continued as he created Jamie's Ministry of Food, a television series where Oliver travelled to inspire everyday people in Rotherham, Yorkshire, to cook healthy meals. Another television series is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (2010–2011), where he travelled first to Huntington, West Virginia and then to Los Angeles to change the way Americans eat, and address their dependence on fast food.^[4]

Oliver's holding company, Sweet As Candy, has made enough profit for Oliver to have been listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30.^[16][17]

In June 2008 he launched Jamie's Italian, his very first high-street business venture^{[clarification needed]} in Oxford, England.^[18]

It was reported in October 2009 that Oliver is in the process of raising US$22 million to help fund 30 of his Italian restaurants in Asia.^[19]

In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize.^[20]

Charity and campaigning[link]

Oliver conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant where he trained fifteen disadvantaged young people to work in the hospitality industry. Following the success of the original restaurant in London, more Fifteens have opened around the globe: Fifteen Amsterdam opened in December 2004, Fifteen Cornwall in Newquay opened in May 2006 and Fifteen Melbourne opened in September 2006 with Australian friend and fellow chef Tobie Puttock.^[21]

Oliver then began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and to get children eating nutritious food instead. Oliver's efforts to bring radical change to the school meals system, chronicled in the series Jamie's School Dinners, challenged the junk-food culture by showing schools they could serve healthy, cost-efficient meals that kids enjoyed eating.^[22] Jamie's efforts brought the subject of school dinners to the political forefront and changed the types of food served in schools.^[23]

In June 2003, Oliver was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He has also written columns for The Times. A great proponent of fresh organic foods, Oliver was named the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry when he topped the inaugural Caterersearch.com 100 in May 2005.^[24] The list placed Oliver higher than Sir Francis Mackay, the then-chairman of the contract catering giant Compass Group, which Oliver had soundly criticised in Jamie's School Dinners. In 2006, Oliver dropped to second on the list behind fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.^[25] In July 2010, Jamie regained the top spot and has been named as the most powerful and influential person in the UK hospitality industry once again.^[26]

In December 2009, Oliver was awarded the 2010 TED Prize for his campaigns to "create change on both the individual and governmental levels" in order to "bring attention to the changes Englanders and now Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet."^[20]

In 2010, Oliver joined several other celebrity chefs on the series The Big Fish Fight.^[27] In the series, Oliver, along with fellow chef Gordon Ramsay, spent time on a trawler boat to raise awareness about the discarding of hundreds of thousands of saltwater fish because the fisherman are prohibited from keeping any fish other than the stated target of the trawl.^{[citation needed]}

Oliver is a patron of environmental charity Trees for Cities.^[28]

Advertising[link]

From 1998, Oliver was the public face of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain in the UK, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material. The deal earned him an estimated £1.2 million every year.^[29] By 2004, the company had made 65 advertisements with Oliver, but this arrangement has not been without controversy. Oliver was reported to have admitted that he does not use supermarkets, saying “For any chef, supermarkets are like a factory. I buy from specialist growers, organic suppliers and farmers".^[30] He was also said to have been criticised by Sainsbury's CEO Justin King when he slammed the "junk" sold by supermarkets that ends up in the lunchboxes of millions of children. King reportedly hit back, saying: "Dictating to people – or unleashing an expletive-filled tirade – is not the way to get engagement."^[31]

Oliver has also a line of non-stick pans and cookware for Tefal and has appeared in Australian television commercials for Yalumba wines, using Del Boy's catchphrase of "Lovely Jubbly".^{[citation needed]}

Television shows[link]

Oliver's programmes are shown in over 40 countries, including the USA's Food Network. Oliver's Twist and Pukka Tukka picked up where The Naked Chef left off. More recently, Oliver has appeared in campaigning programmes to improve food in schools and the cooking skills of the average person.^{[citation needed]}

The Naked Chef (1998–1999) was Oliver's first series. The title was a reference to the simplicity of Oliver's recipes and has nothing to do with nudity. Oliver has frequently admitted that he was not entirely happy with the title, which was devised by producer Patricia Llewellyn. (In the UK edit of the show, the opening titles include a clip of him telling an unseen questioner, "No way! It's not me, it's the food!") The success of the programme led to the books Return of the Naked Chef and Happy Days with the Naked Chef.

Series guide:

• Series 1 (6 editions): 14 April 1999 to 16 June 1999
• Series 2 (8 editions): 12 April 2000 to 31 May 2000
• Series 3 (8 editions): 16 October 2001 to 4 December 2001
• Special "Christmas comes early": 21 December 1999
• Special "Christmas in New York": 20 December 2000 - Jamie undertakes a stage in New York
• Special "Christmas Party": 19 December 2001

Pukka Tukka was launched in 2000 on Channel 4.^{[citation needed]}

Oliver's Twist was launched in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Jamie's Kitchen was a five-part 2002 documentary series. It followed Oliver as he attempted to train a group of disadvantaged youths, who would, if they completed the course, be offered jobs at Oliver's new restaurant "Fifteen". This was followed by Return to Jamie's Kitchen in 2003.

Jamie's Kitchen Australia was a ten-part 2006 television series, similar to Jamie's Kitchen, that was based in and aired in Australia.

Jamie's School Dinners (2005) was a four-part documentary series. Oliver took responsibility for running the kitchen meals in Kidbrooke School, Greenwich, for a year. Disgusted by the unhealthy food being served to schoolchildren and the lack of healthy alternatives on offer, Oliver began a campaign to improve the standard of Britain’s school meals. Public awareness was raised and subsequently the British Government pledged to spend £280m on school dinners (spread over three years). Tony Blair acknowledged that this was a result of Oliver's campaign. Following the success of the campaign, Oliver was named "Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005" in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006. In episode 2 of Jamie's School Dinners, Oliver's Fifteen London restaurant was visited by former US President Bill Clinton. Clinton asked to see Oliver; however, Oliver refused: 36 showed up for a booking of 20 and many of them were on a South Beach Diet and refused the special menu that had been prepared, even though it had been approved in advance.^[32]

Jamie's Great Italian Escape, a six-part travelogue series, was first broadcast on Channel 4 in Britain in October 2005. It follows Oliver as he travels around Italy in a blue VW van (plus a trailer for cooking). He is about to turn 30 and this is his personal adventure to rediscover his love of cooking.^{[citation needed]}

Jamie's Return To School Dinners

Jamie's Chef (2007) was a four-part series continuing where Jamie's Kitchen left off. Five years and fifty trainees later, Oliver's most recent series aims to help the winning trainee establish their own restaurant at The Cock, a pub near Braintree, Essex. The charitable Fifteen Foundation retains ownership of the property and has provided a £125,000 loan for the winner, Aaron Craze, to refurbish the establishment. As of 13 January 2008, the Cock has closed down and reopened as a regular pub.^[33][34]

Jamie at Home (2007) featured Oliver presenting home-style recipes and gardening tips, with many ingredients coming from his substantial home garden. Jamie at Home airs on the Food Network in the United States. Due to licensing restrictions, only two recipes from each Jamie at Home episode appear online; also, access to recipes is limited to users within the United States.^[35]

Jamie's Fowl Dinners (2008) was a special with Jamie backing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Hugh's Chicken Run" in trying to get the British to eat free range chickens.^[36]

Jamie's Ministry of Food (2008) was a four-part series that aired from 30 September to 21 October 2008.^[37] It was based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.^[38] Oliver aimed to make the town "the culinary capital of the United Kingdom" and tried to get the town's inhabitants to learn how to cook fresh food and establish healthy eating as part of daily life.^[39] The 'Pass It On' campaign also featured in this series with the local townspeople being taught one of a selection of recipes and passing it on to family members and friends.^[38] The 'Pass It On' campaign gained a following on the social networking website Facebook which has a group and fan page with users signing up to chart their progress.

What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver (2008) is a video game with Oliver narrating.

Jamie Saves Our Bacon (2009) was part of Channel 4's British Food Fight Season, a thematic sequel to Jamie's Fowl Dinners. In the special, Oliver looks at the state of pig farming in the UK and EU. It was broadcast on 29 January 2009.^[40]

Jamie's American Road Trip (2009) was a Channel 4 series following Jamie who, rather than visit fancy restaurants and top chefs, meets and learns from real cooks making honest food for working people at street stalls, off-road diners and down-to-earth local restaurants. Along the way, he picks up new recipes and experiences tastes old and new, as well as learning how other cultures adapt when they come to the USA.^[41]

Jamie's Family Christmas (2009) was short series (5 episodes) on Channel 4 with Oliver cooking traditional and new Christmas dishes. More unusually this series includes members of Oliver's family: a family member (wife, children, sister etc.) appears in a supporting role with the preparation of particular recipe interspersed with more traditional Jamie alone delivery to an off-camera person. First broadcast 15 December 2009.^[42]

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was a series that aired during 2010 and 2011 on ABC in the United States. In the first season, Oliver visited Huntington, West Virginia, statistically one of the unhealthiest cities in the USA, to try to improve its residents' eating habits. In 2010, the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Programme.^[43] In the second season Oliver visited Los Angeles, California where his crusade to change school meals was met with resistance. Oliver was ultimately barred from filming at any Los Angeles public school. The show's cancellation was announced by ABC in May 2011, two weeks before the final episode of the season had aired.^[44] The program also aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 under the title Jamie's American Food Revolution, and in Australia on Channel 10 under the original title.

Jamie Does (2010) or Jamie Oliver's Food Escapes (2011, American title) is a Channel 4 series of 6 episodes following the success of Jamie's American Road Trip. Oliver travels across Europe and North Africa, cooking local dishes.

Jamie's 30 Minute Meals (2010) was Channel 4 series of 40 episodes aired during October–November. The programme focused on home-cooked meals that could be put together within the titular timeframe, using simple 'not cheffy' techniques. There was also an emphasis on educating viewers about the cooking processes themselves.^[45]

Jamie's Dream School (2011) is a Channel 4 series that looks at young people’s educational problems and attempts to uncover whether they are down to personal circumstance, society, or the education system itself. It also examines how the new teachers get on as they try to translate their real-life expertise into the realities of the classroom. The experts include scientist Professor Robert Winston, historian David Starkey, barrister Cherie Blair, journalist and political aide Alastair Campbell, actor Simon Callow, artist Rolf Harris, musician Jazzie B and Olympic gold medallist Daley Thompson.

Jamie advertised with the Daily Mail in October 2011.

Jamie's Fish Supper (2011) was a one-hour special show in which Oliver cooked 10 fish recipes as a part of Big Fish Fight campaign.

Jamie Cooks Summer (2011) was a one-hour special in which Oliver cooked summer dishes in various outdoor locations.

Other television appearances[link]

Oliver has twice guest-hosted Channel 4's The Friday Night Project.

He has also made two appearances in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of BBC Two's Top Gear. His first appearance was notorious for his attempt to make a green salad in the back of his Volkswagen Microbus,which was fitted with a Porsche engine, while the Stig drove it around the Top Gear test track.

Oliver is the second British celebrity chef (after Robert Irvine) to appear as a challenger on Iron Chef America, taking on Iron Chef Mario Batali in 2008 in a losing battle with cobia as the theme ingredient.^{[citation needed]}

He starred as one of the judges in the 2008 US series Oprah's Big Give hosted by Oprah Winfrey on ABC (America).

He guest starred as himself in the "Meatloaf Surprise" episode of Phineas and Ferb.

Live shows[link]

The Happy Days Live tour was Oliver's first live show in 2001 and included several dates in the UK and Australasia.^[46] Performing to sold-out venues, he cooked on stage and interacted with the audiences with competitions, music and special effects only usually seen in pop concerts.^[47] He took the audiences by surprise by singing and drumming to a song called Lamb Curry written by his longtime friend Leigh Haggerwood. Oliver appears at the BBC Good Food show each year and took to the road once more in 2006 on an Australian tour where he performed in Sydney and Melbourne. Following the entertaining format of his first live show, the 2006 Australian tour featuring special guests including mentor Gennaro Contaldo, and students from Fifteen London. Oliver also performed a new song written by Leigh Haggerwood called Fish Stew which Jamie cooked to and also drummed along to at the end of the show. The shows were a great success and are featured in a one-off TV documentary called Jamie Oliver: Australian Diary.^[48]

Controversy[link]

In 2005, Oliver was widely criticised by animal rights groups for slaughtering a fully conscious lamb on his TV show, while PETA praised Oliver for showing the killing uncensored, claiming that it highlighted problems with the methods used within slaughterhouses for viewers at home.^[49] PETA spokesman Sean Gifford said that it "could turn the more diehard carnivore into a vegetarian."^[49] British TV regulator Ofcom reported they had seven complaints from the public.^[49]

Oliver has been known for his comments about other chefs and has spoken out against Marco Pierre White, who has been critical of Oliver in the past, and the notorious swearing of Gordon Ramsay.^[50]

In 2005, Oliver embarked upon his school dinners campaign to improve the quality of food fed to pupils. While the campaign was arguably successful,^[51] at the time it was a highly controversial shake-up for students and parents, some of whom believed that the students should have a healthy option available, but still be given the choice as to what they want to eat. In September 2006, Rawmarsh Community School, South Yorkshire, UK, made headlines after a handful of parents revolted against Oliver's lunch plan (in which all 1,100 pupils on site were fed two portions of fruit and three vegetables every day) by delivering junk food from local shops to the pupils through the school fence. One parent dismissed Oliver's food as "disgusting rubbish" and declared, "Food is cheaper and better at the local takeaways.”^[52]

In 2008 Jamie revealed on Chris Moyles' Radio 1 show^[53] that he had never cooked a hard boiled egg (as a dish in itself). Jamie volunteered the information, with some embarrassment, when discussing Delia Smith's infamous 'How to boil an egg' gaffe.

In 2011, Oliver, an advocate of cooking meals from scratch and using local produce, caused controversy after it turned out the sauces used in Jamie's Italian in Glasgow were from an industrial park almost 400 miles away in Bicester.^[54] Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are spokeschefs for the "Big Fish Fight," which campaigns for sustainable seafood, but were criticised for their use of endangered fish.^[55]

Also in 2011, Oliver came under fire for lack of food safety protections in his restaurants and illnesses associated with under cooking mince meat that may have been contaminated with E.coli.^[56]

Pop culture[link]

Oliver was mentioned in the South Park episode "Medicinal Fried Chicken". Eric Cartman, one of the main characters, is ordered by Colonel Sanders to stop him from delivering his speech against KFC. He is also featured in the later episode "Crème Fraiche". Oliver cries while trying to convince celebrity chef Bobby Flay that kids' food should be healthy.^[57]

Books[link]

• Something for the Weekend, ISBN 0-14-102258-2
• The Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7868-6617-9
• The Return of the Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7181-4439-2
  • Published in America as The Naked Chef Takes Off, ISBN 0-7868-6755-8
• Happy Days with the Naked Chef, ISBN 0-7868-6852-X
• Jamie's Kitchen, ISBN 1-4013-0022-7
• Jamie's Dinners, ISBN 1-4013-0194-0
• Jamie's Italy, ISBN 0-7181-4770-7
• Cook With Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook , ISBN 0-7181-4771-5
• Jamie's Little Book of Big Treats, ISBN 0-14-103146-8
• Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life, ISBN 978-0-7181-5243-7
• Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours, ISBN 978-0-7181-4862-1
  • Published in America as Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals, ISBN 978-1-4013-2359-2
• Jamie's Red Nose Recipes, ISBN 978-0-14-104178-0
• Jamie's America, ISBN 978-0-7181-5476-9
• Jamie does... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France, ISBN 978-0-7181-5614-5
• Jamie's 30-minute Meals, ISBN 978-0-7181-5477-6
• Jamie's Great Britain, ISBN 978-0-7181-5681-7

Notes[link]

• Jamie Oliver @ telegraph in The Telegraph
• Jamie Oliver biography in BBC Online
• Q&A with the Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, 8 November 2007
• Jamie Oliver's Restaurants – Fifteen at Visit Britain
• Jamie Oliver at the Chef and Restaurant Database
• 350 Years of Jamie's Family History
• Video of Jamie's talk at TED
• Jamie Oliver interviewed by Decca Aitkenhead on Guardian October 2010.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• List of social entrepreneurs
• Stafford Hildred, Jamie Oliver: The Biography (2001) ISBN 1-903402-55-7
• Gilly Smith, Jamie Oliver: Turning Up the Heat (2006) ISBN 0-233-00168-9
• Gilly Smith, Jamie Oliver: The Kitchen Crusader (2006) ISBN 978-1-86200-414-6

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jamie Oliver

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jamie Oliver

• Jamie Oliver Official website
• Jamie Oliver at the Internet Movie Database

Richard Dawkins
Dawkins in 2010 at Cooper Union in New York City
Born	Clinton Richard Dawkins (1941-03-26) 26 March 1941 (age 71) Nairobi, Kenya Colony
Nationality	British
Education	MA, DPhil (Oxon)
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation	Ethologist
Years active	1967–present
Employer	University of California, Berkeley University of Oxford
Organization	Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Known for	Gene-centered view of evolution, concept of the meme, as well as advocacy of atheism and science.
Notable work(s)	The Selfish Gene (1976) The Extended Phenotype (1982) The Blind Watchmaker (1986) The God Delusion (2006)
Influenced by	Charles Darwin, Ronald Fisher, George C. Williams, W. D. Hamilton, Daniel Dennett, Bertrand Russell, Nikolaas Tinbergen, John Maynard Smith, Robert Trivers
Spouse	Marian Stamp Dawkins (m. 1967–1984) Eve Barham (m. 1984–?) Lalla Ward (m. 1992–present)
Children	Juliet Emma Dawkins (born 1984)
Parents	Clinton John Dawkins Jean Mary Vyvyan (née Ladner)
Awards	ZSL Silver Medal (1989) Faraday Award (1990) Kistler Prize (2001)
Website
The Richard Dawkins Foundation

Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941), known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford,^[1] and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008.^[2]

Dawkins came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution and introduced the term meme. In 1982 he introduced an influential concept into evolutionary biology, presented in his book The Extended Phenotype, that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, including the bodies of other organisms.^[3]

Dawkins is an atheist, a vice president of the British Humanist Association, and a supporter of the Brights movement.^[4] He is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argued against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he described evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing these topics. In his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that religious faith is a delusion—"a fixed false belief."^[5] As of January 2010 the English-language version has sold more than two million copies and had been translated into 31 languages.^[6]

Biography[link]