Stephen Mulhern has revealed his youth was spent ‘looking out for police’ to protect his father.
The TV presenter, 47, began his career presenting the children’s television shows Finger Tips and Tricky TV.
In the years since he’s fronted Britain’s Got More Talent, Deal or No Deal, Catchphrase and Dancing on Ice.
However, he’s now revealed his early years saw him helping to keep an eye on approaching authorities while his dad was earning a living.
Born in Stratford, East London, Stephen’s parents were market traders whose work risked them getting in trouble with the authorities at times.
He’s now explained how he and his brothers would be kept on watch for his father on the streets of London, likening them to Only Fools and Horses wheeler-dealer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter and his younger brother Rodney.
‘My dad was a flypitcher on Petticoat Lane in east London. If you’re not sure what a flypitcher is, my dad was Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and I was Rodney,’ he said.
‘Crack of dawn, dad was out there selling novelty toys or them slice-and-dice vegetable choppers – me and my brothers looking out for the police,’ he added when speaking to The Sunday Times.
The presenter then explained working for his father offered some valuable lessons.
‘Dad would let me have a go on the stall, and that’s where I learnt how to perform in front of the hardest kind of audience: real people,’ he said.
After becoming infatuated by magic aged 11, Stephen went on to become a Redcoat entertainer at Butlin’s in Somerset six years later.
However, he said he ‘didn’t get into magic to be cool’ and was simply entranced by the hobby.
Stephen said magic was still a ‘huge part’ of his life and he continued to hone his skills and always walked around with a pack of cards in his pocket and liked to try tricks on fans who stop and ask him for a chat or selfie.
‘Other kids watched Match of the Day and got into football, I watched Paul Daniels and decided to learn magic. And it was the magic that led me to be a Redcoat at Butlin’s. It gave me a career,’ he added.
After leaving school, Stephen created a magic show and won a TV talent show hosted by Jonathan Ross in 1997, leading him to be invited to take part in the Royal Variety Performance at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
His The Quick Trick Show then hit screens in 1999 and featured magic tricks, ‘wicked wind-ups’, illusions, and step-by-step guides to tricks. It ran until 2004.
Deal or No Deal, Catchphrase and Dancing on Ice are streaming on ITVX.
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