One of the UK's best-known mediums, Derek Acorah is a familiar face on the small screen.

James Marston

One of the UK's best-known mediums, Derek Acorah is a familiar face on the small screen. Today, as he prepares for his latest tour, he chats to JAMES MARSTON.

DEREK Acorah's career as a spiritualist medium began when his first career ended.

He said: “I was a professional footballer. I signed with Liverpool Football Club as a 13-year-old schoolboy and I signed as a player when I was 17.

“I never quite made it into the team but I played in the reserves.”

It was when he was playing for a football team in Australia that injury forced Derek to retire from the game.

He said: “I came back to the UK and my family reminded me that my grandmother, who was also a medium, had told me I would follow in her footsteps.”

Derek said he placed an advert in his local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo, advertising his services.

He said: “It was the only advert I ever placed and I haven't stopped working as a medium since.”

That was 32 years ago and Derek is due to demonstrate his skills at Ipswich's Regent theatre on May 19.

He said: “It is a two-hour show with a 20-minute interval.

“I start by introducing myself and I explain to the audience that the evening will be conducted in a measured and sensible way. I communicate with the world of spirit and hopefully get a person that belongs to a person in the audience and convey messages.”

Derek said messages can often be related to issues that had arisen at the time of death - or passing as Derek calls it - or messages relating to observances made by the spirit.

He added: “There's no script. You can never tell what the messages will be about, they vary so much.”

It can be an emotional experience.

Derek said: “There are often tears, laughter and joy. I have developed my mediumship. At one time I only saw spirits subjectively, in my mind's eye, but in the last ten or 12 years I have been able to see them objectively in front of me.

“I can describe them and their features and if they have the ability to talk from the spirit world I can hear them and converse with them.”

Describing his gift as a vocation, Derek says he gains deep satisfaction from providing comfort to people who may have lost a loved one.

He added: “It is very rewarding and in a way you never got on the football pitch. Although it is emotional there is nothing like it when you engage with the audience. I always stay behind after every show and meet people as well.”

Though mediumship is a rare gift, it has been widespread for millennia.

Derek said: “There are mediums all over the world and it has been practiced for years.”

For Derek, demonstrating his skills can be emotionally and physically draining.

The 59-year-old said: “I have to practise opening and closing. You have to have that discipline or you would be connected to spirits the whole time.

“It is tiring, I am doing 54 shows on this tour and you don't always feel like doing it. I follow a good diet and make sure I get enough rest and exercise. I don't burn the candle.”

Derek Acorah will be at Ipswich's Regent theatre on May 19. Tickets are available from the box office on 01473 433100.

Have you ever visited a psychic? What do you think? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or send an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Q & A

Do you have an unfulfilled ambition?

“Many years ago I was told by an older medium that I would appear as myself in a film talking about the world of spirit. I'm not an actor but I'd like to do that.”

What are your hobbies?

“I love football. I watch Liverpool when I can. I like reading and walking my dogs.”

What is the highlight of your career?

“When the Variety Club of Great Britain named me as 2004 personality of the year.”

Do you have a diva demand in the dressing room?

“I'm not really a diva. All I need is some iced water, a pot of tea, and some water on stage. I like to be left alone before I go on so I can cut out all other influences.”