Saturday, October the 22nd, 2011
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Last night I watched the first episode of Derren Brown's new television series “The Experiment”. Is it possible, he asked, to hypnotise someone into carrying out an assassination, and for them to have no memory of the deed? This being a Derren Brown show, the answer was of course a resounding “yes!”. We watched as a harmless, affable young IT person was supplied with what he thought was a loaded gun, placed into a trance, and then, in a crowded theatre, calmly “shot” a celebrity. The target was Stephen Fry.
It was all very entertaining, but whereas we know (and he himself cheerfully admits) that Derren Brown is simply a showman with a bag of tricks, it was evidence that your very own Mr Key is a seer who can foretell the future. Back in the summer of 2009, I put these words into the mouth of the bestselling paperbackist Pebblehead:
You will recall Digby Smew, the fascist podcaster who first appeared in my book The Assassination Of Stephen Fry.
Cue eldritch, spooky music as I stalk off into the mist in my cape and wizardy hat.