They may claim that variety is dead but someone forgot to tell Paul Daniels. After his recent success on the Edinburgh Fringe, the one-time top TV conjuror has repackaged his inimitable brand of old school magic and is driving around the provinces in a car full of rabbits doing one-nighters.

It’s an intriguing sight. At Poole, Daniels and his wife and assistant - the “lovely” Debbie McGee - hit the stage like the past 30 years had never happened. The result was some very slick sleight-of-hand and a splendidly cheesy looking production.

Jokes about his once much ridiculed toupee were dispensed with in the first few minutes. There was acknowledgement too for Sooty. The glove puppet who recently managed to hospitalise Daniels with a pizza in the face.

He may not have 18 million viewers these days but Paul Daniels knows his business inside out and there’s much respect from fellow professionals. More than 30 magicians were in the Lighthouse audience and were clearly impressed by the precision and showmanship of an act that hovered somewhere between Tommy Cooper and Penn and Teller.

Paul’s son, comedy magician and rather small chip off the old block, Martin Daniels, helped warm things up nicely. There was a good line in audience participation too including the chance to ridicule a local bank manager. The punters loved that.