Comedy magician Pete Firman is bringing his Tricks and Giggles tour to the Rhoda McGaw Theatre in Woking on October 18 at 7.30pm.

He said the description of himself was born out of necessity: “Living in London in the early 2000s, there were no magic clubs but lots of comedy clubs.

“I dropped in with my new act but discovered quite quickly that people don’t come to a comedy club to see a magic act, so I developed jokes to go with it - so comedy magician is the fairest title.”

Pete hails from Middlesbrough - a town famous for its Transporter Bridge, which took vehicles and pedestrians over the River Tees in a gondola.

He said: “The Transporter Bridge? That’s a throwback! It’s still there and I think it still works. There is a famous story of Terry Scott - of Terry and June - driving off it into the drink in the 1970s.”

Fortunately Terry and his Jaguar were saved from a watery end in March 1974 by a safety net below the bridge.

Pete added: “I’m hugely in debt to Middlesbrough as that’s where I started. My first professional gig was at a restaurant in Middlesbrough, wandering round doing magic tricks while people were waiting for their pizza.

“My magic club was the Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians. They helped me, taught me and supported me, so I owe the area a great deal actually.”

The Herald told Pete about a recent Stephen Mulhern trick in which he and a motorbike he was sitting on disappeared from a cage suspended above the stage - only to reappear a second later, with Mulhern roaring up the aisle on it.

Pete said: “I remember seeing Doug Henning - a very famous Canadian magician with tie-dye clothes, long hair and a handlebar moustache - do it. It’s the only time I’ve seen it done.

“That’s the thing about magic. You can watch it on TV, online or on YouTube, but when it happens right in front of your face it’s so powerful - so to be in a room with a guy doing seemingly impossible things and bamboozling you is a great thing. It’s a nice break from the world for a couple of hours.”

Pete wouldn’t give details of his show - “I don’t want to spoil the surprises” - but dropped a few hints.

He said: “I’m doing sleight of hand magic with a projector and screen, mind reading, and large and small scale tricks.

“There will be audience participation. It’s the same show every night but with different people. You get to know a bit about them and sometimes they make the show. And I like to be kept on my toes!”

Pete is happy to visit Woking: “It will be only the second time I’ve played this particular venue so I’m looking forward to coming back. I like the theatre and I’m sure it’ll be a good night. I can’t wait.

“Come to have your mind blown and your ribs tickled!”

For tickets, priced from £24, visit https://www.wokingtheatre.co.uk/dates