A former student of a Norwich college has claimed a record-breaking award after dazzling judges.
Matthew Le Mottée, 28, who qualified as a sports therapist from City College, is the first person to claim The Magic Circle Close-up Magician of the Year Award in consecutive years.
A record number of entries were received for the 2018 competition and a shortlist of eight performed live to determine the victor at The Magic Circle's headquarters in London.
The competition took place in front of a panel of expert judges and an audience, as well as being live-streamed to members of The Magic Circle across the globe.
Each performer had eight minutes to entertain and were assessed for their skill and originality.
Mr Le Mottée, whose repertoire includes pushing bottles through tables and vanishing jewellery, said he was more nervous this time around.
He said: 'There was definitely a lot more pressure this year. Even though nobody was given any background on the magicians, so there was no bias, I knew all the members who had seen my performance last year or were watching the live stream were expecting something just as good if not better.'
Mr Le Mottée has made a name for himself through his brand of 'dapper magic', which he describes as a marriage of 'old fashioned charm with modern day magic to create a unique twist on the traditional'.
Having claimed the title once again, the magic man is being flown to Chicago and New York to perform at a series of private events for The Magic Circle, whose members include Dynamo, Prince Charles and Norwich City ambassador Stephen Fry.
However, despite being invited to such glamorous pastures, Mr Le Mottée is planning on returning to the region.
He said: 'I'm currently writing a show for the summer and I'm hoping to take that to a few places in East Anglia and Norwich is definitely on the list. It's going to be a parlour performance, taking it back to those early days when magicians would perform in the manor houses of the aristocracy.'
As for how it is done, Mr Le Mottée is keeping schtum.
He said: 'The industry is self-enforcing and even with the advent of the internet, we are keeping our secrets and honouring the code.'
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