Derek Acorah Metro Interview
James Ellis - Tuesday, April 1, 2003

60 SECONDS EXTRA!: Medium Derek Acorah and his spirit guide, Sam, has been a smash alongside former Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding on Living TV's Most Haunted - where his ability to deduce facts about houses he knows nothing about is amazing. Tonight sees the former Liverpool footballer and the rest of the team do a live transmission, while series two begins next week. Have you had an other-worldly experience?

METRO CAFÉ EXCLUSIVE: You used to be a footballer..
I tried to be. As a 13-year-old schoolboy I was signed by Liverpool as an amateur and they had first option on signing me professionally. When I was 15, Bill Shankley sent along one of the coaches, Ruben Bennett, and his assistant Bob Paisley to try to convince my dad that I should sign apprentice pro terms, but my parents wanted me to complete my studies. About six months later, Bob Paisley came down with Bill himself and convinced my dad - having Shanks in the house is what did it. He said to my old man: 'Och son, we can make him a footballer.' I signed full-time pro terms two years later but never quite made the first team - I got as far as the reserves and about seven games pre-season for the first team. When they let me go, I joined Wrexham and played for them for about a season before going to play for a team called USC Lions in Australia.

When did you discover you were psychic?
My grandmother was a medium - she told the family I would follow. Even when I was playing football I could see things. Emlyn Hughes was a good mate of mine and he was getting a new car. I said: 'Emlyn, is the car red?' And he said: 'Yes.' I replied: 'Be careful picking it up.' He collected it with our coaches, Ruben Bennett and Joe Fagan, they were driving to training, had a crash and it was a write-off. A lot of the players thought I was weird after that.

Your first sighting?
I was six. We lived in my grandmother's house, as my dad used to work away. On the landing I saw a man walk towards me. He ruffled my hair and asked me to tell gran that Richard had come to say hello. When I told her, she took out a tin box, put a handful of photos on the table and asked me if I recognised the person. I said he was in two. It turned out it was my grandfather, who was killed two years before I was born.

When did you get in touch with Sam?
He's always been around - my gran told me about him. He wasn't allowed to be with me until I was about 17, when I became clairaudient as well as clairvoyant. He's my doorkeeper and guide. When he first announced himself, I heard him say: 'Derek, it's Sam.' I didn't know if anyone else could see him so I took myself off to the loo and mentally said: 'Yes, it's me.' He then began to fill me in on what it was all about.

When you first heard him, did you think you were going mad?
Yes. The thing that saved me was the grounding with my gran. She'd told me I would start to see and hear more as I got older.

Have you come in contact with your gran since?
Many, many, many times. I was doing a theatre tour recently, and on two occasions in Lincoln and Southsea I was ready to come from behind the curtain and the stage manager saw the outline of a woman next to me, which was when I was talking to her. I was doing another show and a woman shouted: 'Can Sam do anything?' and my glass of water on the table on stage went right off. I was standing right at the other side.

When have you been most scared?
The investigation of Brannigans in Manchester and the House of Correction were bad. I witnessed things that I'd never come across - it was very intense. Another was on one of the live shows at Dover Castle, where I came across a little drummer boy who was murdered - I had to help him go into the light. As a medium you are constantly shown new things to test your abilities. It's normal and human to be scared but not scared in the sense of the unknown. I may walk into occasions that I've not encountered before but Sam has assured me that no spirit can harm me as I'm still in the physical body and my energy field protects me. They can't kill me.

Are you always switched on?
No - it would be a danger to my equilibrium. The world of spirit lives in realms where there is no time. When they find an instrument like myself they try to make constant contact. You develop a code of opening and closing to replenish your energy. I open and close with a prayer of indication. I have to be ordinary too - I'm a family man and can't be walking down the street and seeing ghosts all the time.

Is Sam only there when you're on?
He's constantly with me but will not interrupt in closure unless I call. Everyone has a guardian angel. You have one. They only appear, though, if you start to develop your psychic side. The closer they come, the more aware you are.

How does your wife feel about there being three people in the marriage?
Gwen wasn't too keen until she realised his role and how it could help other people. She is very caring and that helped her relax. Often she will say: 'Derek's closed Sam, can you empty the atmosphere of the room, please, because we're going out for a bite to eat.'

If everyone is psychic, why is it more natural to you than, say, me
No one knows the answer. It seems, if it's a gift that's been passed down, the development happens in a more assured way. There are mediums out there who have no case history but self-develop. They find it more difficult, but they get there eventually.

When you're taken over by a spirit, how much is still you?
You are never absolutely taken over. In the last series of Most Haunted, I was taken over by the spirit of an evil innkeeper called Jarman, who would murder guests for their money. It was two-thirds him and one-third Derek Acorah. That third stands back and listens to what the spirit tells me. Carl Beattie - who is our producer and Yvette's husband - can help bring me out of the trance.

If you were in the States, you'd be huge. How come you don't make terrestrial TV?
ITV, BBC, Five and Channel Four have all wanted me to do programmes. They always get pulled because of the ITC - it seems that in their infinite wisdom they want to keep people like me on what you might call niche programmes. They believe the general public would be too susceptible to influence. My solicitor told me that my name is actually mentioned in the paper: 'We will not allow Derek Acorah to talk to the dead.' What can I do? I love Living though - they've stood by me and I thank God for their help. They've had the courage to put the shows on and my loyalty lies with them. I talk to the dead on Living. How ironic.

What do you say to sceptics?
To the believer, no proof is necessary; to the sceptic or the cynic, no proof is possible. Scepticism is healthy - it shows that the person's mind is active. But I invite all sceptics to come and view a respectable medium - myself included - either in a one-to-one or in clairvoyance, and sit free of charge, and then make their mind up. I've found many people who were sceptics who are now believers.