EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Ben Hanlin

BWW speaks to Ben Hanlin ahead of his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show Ben Hanlin: Trickhead.

Tell us a bit about Trickhead

I'm really excited about it, because it's my debut one-man show. I've tried to create a magic show that I would like to see. Obviously it includes magic that will hopefully amaze people, but I've tried to make it fun and interactive. I want people to leave thinking they've had a great laugh and no idea how any of it was done.

There's a fantastic expletive quoted from Kerry Katona on your press release. Care to explain?!

That was just after I made her think I'd destroyed her engagement ring! We were filming for Tricked and I pranked her into thinking that I had accidentally dropped her expensive engagement into acid which completely dissolved it. She wasn't best pleased. Then I magically made it reappear and revealed that we had been filming the entire thing. Normally at this point, most people see the funny side - she just started hitting me and calling me a "w**ker". She was good fun, to be fair!

Do you think you know what to expect from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

All of the performers I've spoken to have said I will love it, but by the end I will be absolutely knackered. I think that may be more from the socialising than the shows...

You have performed some risky pranks on celebrities. Have any of them resulted in disaster?

As the series have progressed, I've tried to push things further and further, especially when it comes to winding people up. It got to a point where the crew would take bets to see if I would get punched. Fortunately I never have been, but I have been shoved a few times and pinned up against a wall. At that point I had to drop the act and basically said "It's a telly program, please don't hit me". For some reason that bloke didn't sign the release form, so we couldn't show it.

How concerned do I need to be about the level of audience participation in your show?

Ha, VERY!! No, only joking. There is a lot of audience participation, but I don't do anything mean. I always try to make sure that everyone who participates in the show has fun and feels good about it.

Ticket information and timings for Ben Hanlin: Trickhead can be found on the edfringe website.