IT doesn’t happen often, but you could hear a pin drop in the BIC’s Windsor Hall as a packed crowd was mesmerised by Derren Brown.

The illusionist, who famously played a game of Russian roulette on live TV and predicted the National Lottery numbers, wowed the audience time after time with his incredible mind- reading tricks during the first half of the show.

But it got truly weird after the interval when he showcased the magic of Svengali, an original, 200-year-old “automaton”, or mind-reading machine, and ventured into the powers of possession with a member of the audience.

Cue plenty of gasps and hands over mouths during that pin-drop moment.

There were “how did he do that?” moments throughout the evening as Derren proved again and again he really is this country’s greatest illusionist.

A true performer, he had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout, with just the right amount of comedy to accompany the proceedings.

I confess to being slightly sceptical about the grand finale stunt, but there were plenty of jaw-dropping, mind-bending feats to keep the audience spellbound.

Not quite as exciting as previous shows, but a fantastic evening’s entertainment none the less.