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Illusionist Derren Brown claims successful lottery prediction
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor10 Sep 2009
Illusionist Derren Brown is to explain how he apparently correctly predicted the National Lottery numbers live on TV.
Channel 4 screened Brown's attempt to call last night's draw.
He set up the Lottery event in a secret studio location, telling viewers only he and two cameramen were present.
Brown said he had predicted the numbers earlier in the day and had written them on six white balls which had their blank side showing to the audience.
He said he would not be able to show them to the public until after the BBC had screened the draw.
Brown kept his hand to his mouth as he watched the draw - for a jackpot of £2.4million. He was silent as the six winning numbers appeared - 2, 11, 23, 28, 35, 39.
He said: "Those are the numbers. I can't believe it."
He told viewers to tune in on Friday when he promised to explain how he did it.
A spokesman for the Lottery said: "It is impossible to affect the outcome of the draw and Derren Brown is not suggesting he is doing this.
"Derren Brown is an illusionist creating an illusion that he can predict the numbers."
Reader views (38)
Not a bad illusion but i actually "predicted" 3 numbers without any sort of help whatsoever, before the draw took place. I must be really really clever and i got a tenner into the bargain!! 
- Elton, Lancs, England, 11/09/2009 15:47
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I think the funniest thing is reading all the comments from the narrow minded people who "know" how he did it and thinking that come friday night when he explains that it was infact was nothing like what they thought. He is an illusionist and a business man, no one knows how he did it except him and his team, all that is for certain is thousands if not millions of people have commented about or watched the show which is what makes him money. Very intelligent and entertaining.
- Matthew H, London, 11/09/2009 11:35
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Have watched the trick carefully and he is doing something with his right arm as the results are announced, while the board he is supposedly holding remains completely static. I guess he had some form of wireless control device in his jacket pocket and was entering the numbers as they are read out.
- John Ware, London, England, 11/09/2009 10:14
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anychance he can pop over to bergen and tell me how much its gonna cost to fix my laptop????
- Billy, bergen norway, 10/09/2009 21:50
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Spooky
I watched this programme and I got one number right. What are the chances? I shall take up a religion forthwith. NuLabour seem to have a special deal on one in particular, can you guess which?
- Edgar, London, 10/09/2009 21:01
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I don't think he would have used camera trickery, he doesn't seem the type. I'm not quite sure what he did but it'll be interesting to find out. Probably some outragous elaborat wheeling scheme because as we all know mathematics is the highest form of truth. Apparently Paul Daniels knows how to predict lottery numbers too
- Joe, Lincoln,England, 10/09/2009 19:02
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I wrote this message without using my hands, elbows, feet, knees, ears, nose or tounge
- Mr D Brown, London, 10/09/2009 17:21
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Maybe Nu Labour may consider wheeling Derren Brown around all the polling stations come the next election to create the illusion that they've won....
- Edward Thompson, Bedfordshire, 10/09/2009 15:44
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Now what the hell am I supposed to do with 49 half ping pong balls?!
- Ian, London, 10/09/2009 14:56
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Who Cares - it was a trick. At least everyone is talking about him so the new DVD/book/TV series will be watched/read which I would assume is the whole point.
- Sara, London, 10/09/2009 14:35
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tipical noo laybore!
- Frank, home counties, 10/09/2009 14:17
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Mathew from Plymouth "to be honest I think this was a fix"!!! The guy is an illusionist, of course it's a fix. He's not claiming to predict the numbers it is more about how he gets to those same numbers. The intelligence or lack of intelligence of people that read this website really does astound me sometimes.
- Andrew, St. John's Wood, London, 10/09/2009 14:10
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My guess is the balls were prepared. If you look at the stand the balls were on it had a wide central column and a raised base. Although the column appeared transparent it could have contained a cable. The balls could have been changed by an assistant using a remote control device. If they were hemispherical the front half would not move while the back half was replaced.
- Andrew, Norwich, UK, 10/09/2009 14:09
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If he did predict, allegedly, the winning numbers, why couldn't he have foretold the global financial meltdown and saved the world?
Is he going to be the next chancellor?
- Steve, Bexhill, 10/09/2009 14:00
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I heard that Gordon 'prudent' Brown has been on the blower, something about the country being skint and our Gord hoping Derren can help him.
- M, London, 10/09/2009 13:59
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All you guys are not that bright really are you? Not only is it of course a trick, Derren Brown openly admits that it is an illusion. He is not trying to claim magic at all. He has done something that none of you know how which he will reveal. You can't say fairer than that and i bet you will all be watching
- Donald D, London, UK, 10/09/2009 13:57
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SOME OF YOU ARE NOT VERY INTELLIGENT!!
IT IS AN ILLUSION!!
IF YOU WATCH CAREFULLY, HE ASUMES THE SAME RECORDED POSE WHILS THE NUMBERS ARE REVEALED. THE BALLS ON THE STAND IS A BLUE SCREEN WHILST THE BALLS ARE CHANGED.
- William Jenkins, LONDON, 10/09/2009 13:47
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@ Mr Pastry, london
I am guessing Disko is now divorced?!
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 10/09/2009 13:38
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Not one of his best stunts, there are many possibilities of achieving this, just have to wait till Friday to find out what trick WASN'T employed. He'll never truly reveal the technique.
This is a two part stunt, we've seen the prelude and the second "revelation" show is meant to be the main one.
- Tony, London, 10/09/2009 13:21
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Derren Brown PREDICTS 2 11 2 28 5 9 LOTTERY NUMBERS?????????
To be honest I think this was a fix!! He didn’t even buy a ticket to prove it! And isn’t it a bit weird that he didn’t reveal his chosen numbers before the draw was done? As you see in the video he has a brief chat about (Camelot) “and the BBC’s legal rights to announce the lottery numbers first before anyone else does” suggests that the guys behind the scenes now have seen the 6 lottery numbers been drawn in live play, and they can now quickly as time permits pull off a great stunt where it makes Derren brown look like has predicated the lottery numbers. And just another thing the prediction that he talked about earlier on at the beginning of the show, where he talks about the balls that he’s chosen in numerical order, they could have Easley been electronic, or could have had some light projection the numbers up on these (maybe) special painted balls.
- Matthew, plymouth, 10/09/2009 13:08
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Brilliant, he did if course buy the ticket for the next Lotto through a 3rd party. Reason he is a multi billionare, he only does this for his own personal amusement.
- William, Hay~Heath UK, 10/09/2009 12:57
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I must say that i have seen this trick done before by a freind of mine called Disko Hassan.
First of all he records the previous weeks lottery show
The following week he buys a ticket with the previous weeks numbers on.
He then sits his wife down in front of the telly and plays the video back on a saturday night when the results are due.
His wife then watches the fake results then reads ticket.
She then passes out after losing control of all bodily functions.
Smelly but hilarious.
and pre Derren Brown.
MR ( I KNOW MAGIC ME) PASTRY.
- Mr Pastry, london, 10/09/2009 12:47
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DONT THINK OF A BLACK CAT
Now... the real test...DONT TYPE 'lottery prediciton' into the ebay search bar
This is where you will find my prediction for next wednesdays draw ONE day in advance of the draw.
Wish you the best of luck, oh and you did think about the black cat right?
- David, Enfield, 10/09/2009 12:07
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What a con...of course he didn't predict the numbers. He's an illusionist folks. Don't be so gullible.
- Jb Sussex, hove sussex uk, 10/09/2009 11:52
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If he is so clever why does he have to work for a living?
- Adrian, London, 10/09/2009 11:07
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"It's been made using a motion controlled camera rig. The first part is pre recorded as he enters the studio and then they switch to live footage after he waves at the second camera positioned at the back of the room (the only reason for having this shot, as the single camera could easily have shown he was in an empty studio?).
The next shot from a static camera rig shows him suddenly framed backed by a few feet (this stationary camera is then manually operated to maintain the hand-held illusion with slight movements and random zooming). As the draw begins the camera freezes for a moment as a computer takes over the operation of the camera, previously recorded footage is then masked over the left hand side of the screen as an assistant replaces the balls with those being drawn (Derren Brown remains very still during this time to prevent any reflections/shadows giving away the border between the live and masked footage). The camera continues to move during this time although in a less natural and more linear manner.
After the draw the shot then freezes again for a fraction of a second as the computer returns control to a camera operator who follows Derren Brown to unveil his predicted numbers. That's my theory, looking forward to Friday, amazing trick."
- Hansel, London, 10/09/2009 11:03
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Yes, if it was anything special, then Derren would have pulled the winning ticket from his pocket. He didn't so it is a timing trick with TV dlay. Any of us could have done it, with a little studio help
- Keith Price, Luton England, 10/09/2009 10:50
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Bob from Cheam
Who taught you maths?!
- Dan, LOndon, 10/09/2009 10:47
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Just one more problem, just checked the lottery website and the lotto is, wait for it,...........a rollover. Wonder if old Des can make it two on a trot, only this time buying a ticket.
- John, london, uk, 10/09/2009 10:44
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Of course its an illusion. Had he really picked the correct numbers, all he had to do was spend £1 on a ticket and he'd be £2.4M better off.
- John, london, uk, 10/09/2009 10:34
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Derren Brown admits he´s an illusionist, not a magician. Nevertheless, he´s a very clever entertainer.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 10/09/2009 10:33
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My girlfriend LOVES this guy so watched this with interest UNTIL he said 'his' numbers wouldn't be shown until after the draw, also why did he have his mouth covered the whole time? Obviously was always going to be a trick, but the whole thing was pointless really with how it was processed.
- Joe Sheridan, Blackburn England, 10/09/2009 10:18
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I didn't watch it, but I did end up winning £10 for the first time in ages!
- Sarah, Enfield, 10/09/2009 10:06
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What would have impressed me more would be if he had pulled out a ticket he had placed with the winning numbers on. As others have said, a very clever illusion. I'll still watch his show in Friday though!
- Greig, Rushden, Northants, 10/09/2009 10:04
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Good fun, cleverly put together but of course just an illusion.
Brown is a very good entertainer who knows he's playing tricks with the audience and does it well. Compare him with Uri Geller who bizarrely seems to actually believe this sort of nonsense! Still where there's gullible people with a wad of cash!
- Sarah R, London, 10/09/2009 09:29
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Derren Brown has only performed an illusion here and that has to be accepted. Otherwise it would make a complete mockery of the lottery being a one in fourteen million game of chance. We should remember the meaning of the word lottery ... it is a complete game of chance with no skill or aforethought involved. Having said all of that, the illusion was a 'quiet' achievement insofar that it didn't involve a theatre full of gawping people. But does this really suggest that the British public are a complete load of mugs? I do hope not ....
- Michael Parmley, East Sussex, UK, 10/09/2009 09:23
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I didn't watch it but logic dictates that camera trickery would be behind it, 6 takes of 10 combinations on each ball would pretty much cover it.
- Bob, Cheam, 10/09/2009 09:17
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He's not called an illusionist for nothing. If I could predict the lottery numbers I would keep very quite about it and just buy a ticket!
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 10/09/2009 08:53
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