Footballer turned celebrity psychic Derek Acorah is never far from controversy. The medium tells Matthew Jenkin why he left TV’s Most Haunted and how he predicted the recession years ago.
Whether you’re a sceptic or a believer, the thought of a supernatural realm both thrills and intrigues. So when LivingTV’s Most Haunted showed a team of hapless ghost hunters flapping around in the dark while things went bump in the night, it’s no surprise the show’s psychic medium Derek Acorah shot to fame and became a household name.
Long before the spooks of the TV show, Derek’s first supernatural experience came when he was six years old and the spirit of his late grandfather visited him.
He said: “When I was nine my gran sat me down and explained to me about my abilities but I didn’t want to be a medium. I wanted to be a footballer.
“Liverpool FC scouted me and I started playing for the junior side and they offered me an apprenticeship. At 17 years old I made the full team.”
Derek later moved to Australia where he played for the then premier team USC Lion.
He said: “I suffered an injury at the age of 29 which forced me to retire and I returned to my home town where I made a living giving psychic readings.”
Derek’s abilities didn’t go unnoticed and in 2001 he joined presenter Yvette Fielding’s group of paranormal investigators as Most Haunted’s resident medium, spending a night in some of Britain’s spookiest locations.
Throughout his four-year run on the show he amazed viewers with his ability to communicate with the dead and, on occasion, be possessed by spirits from across the nation — without ever losing his chirpy scouse accent.
However, in November 2005, he walked away from the show, angry with Fielding’s lack of respect for the spirits.
“You should never provoke a spirit,” he explained. “Yvette did it all the time. I warned her not to but it was her show and she wouldn’t listen.
“The spirits did nasty things to her though, some of which haven’t been shown on TV. One threw a spoon at her and if it had hit her it would have gone through her.”
Despite the show’s popularity, and Derek’s eerie accuracy, many people remain sceptical of his abilities.
But it’s a problem which he dismisses and claims cynics and sceptics are now in the minority following the success of TV shows like Most Haunted.
He said: “In the football days I was bullied because of my abilities. I was called freak, strange and weird. That is until I told them something predicted.
“In the predictive side of my work, I get impressions of things to come.
“Two years ago I went on Radio Merseyside and I predicted the monetary crisis we are having now.
“But I said, yes we would get through it and we’ll get it right this time. So there’s absolutely light at the end of the tunnel.”
Derek Acorah comes to The Orchard, Dartford, on May 1. 01322 220000.
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