ITV’s This Morning didn’t quite pull a rabbit out of the hat during a recent segment, as viewers were left thoroughly unimpressed by an interview with magician Sophie Lloyd, so much so, they flooded the show with complaints, calling for the whole thing to be cut short.
Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley were at the helm as usual, but things quickly went off-script when they introduced Sophie to share her rather unusual story. Back in 1991, she managed to fool the prestigious Magic Circle into thinking she was a man to get in — a bold move at a time when the club didn’t allow women through its doors, reported the Express.
Over 30 years on, the Circle has finally come back to her with an apology and an offer to reinstate her membership. On paper, it’s a fascinating tale — a woman taking on a stuffy old institution and winning, eventually. But for This Morning viewers, it just didn’t land.
Sophie recounted the details of her undercover mission, saying: “I’d played a boy before. It took months of preparation.” She’d managed to pass as a male magician for six months before the ruse was discovered and she was expelled. Reflecting on the time, she added, “Really, going back 30 years, men’s clubs were like, you know, just something you accepted.”
She appeared on the show to revisit that chapter of her life, but judging by the online reaction, a lot of people were ready to switch off. One viewer wrote on X: “Wake me when she’s finished.” Another chimed in, “Cut it now, what is this all about, no one cares.” And that wasn’t the end of it — others branded the segment “scraping the barrel” and questioned why the show was covering something they claimed had already done the rounds.
Sophie’s mission back in the day was sparked by a desire to prove that women could be just as skilled in the world of magic, where they were often overlooked. Her act had actually been inspired by magician Jenny Winstanley, who had been turned away by the Magic Circle despite her talent.
But even with all that backstory and trailblazing spirit, it seems the segment just didn’t cast the right spell. For many viewers, it was less “abracadabra” and more “make it disappear.”
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