Derren Brown: Go-to Northampton hotel for celebrities reveals what it was like to host famous magician and 'Jedi master'

A Northampton hotel has revealed what it was like to host a famous magician and 'Jedi master' for a week.

Derren Brown recently stayed at the The Hopping Hare in Duston while he played his brand new show, 'Showman', at the Royal and Derngate Theatre between October 25 and 29. A Showman review from Empire magazine described Brown, 51, as “the closest our galaxy can boast to a Jedi master," with The New York Times saying 'be brainwashed into joy by one of the world's best magicians”.

After he left The Hopping Hare, the hotel posted on its Facebook saying “what a pleasure it has been this week to have Derren Brown stay with us”.

Speaking to Chronicle & Echo, hotel deputy manager Sarah Mitchell said: "It was great. He always stays with us when he does a show in Northampton. He is absolutely charming, he is very polite, very friendly. He's never any trouble. When any other guests approach him he's always very chatty. He's just one of the nicest people you'd hope to meet. He's really lovely. He likes it here, as with most of our guests. It's a really nice place to stay, the food is amazing, the staff are always helpful and accommodating. We always get a lot of very good feedback.”

Asked if Brown gave them a private magic show at the hotel, Sarah said the hotel prefers to let celebrities relax when they visit. She said: "We didn't get a magic show, we don't want to pester him! Quite often when we get celebrity guests we just want to let them relax and stay under the radar.”

The Hopping Hare is a bit of a hotspot for celebrities, with a fair few well-known names visiting over the years. Sarah said: "Bill Bailey was here a few months back. Ruby Wax has stayed a couple of times. Matt Le Blanc, he stayed. He was doing something for Top Gear. The guy from The Chase, he often does a quiz in Duston and always stays here, ‘The Sinnerman’, (Paul Sinha). He does a regular quiz in Duston. We usually put it on Facebook but only after they've left."

In October last year, Bill Bailey was pictured visiting Duston Village Bakery.