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00:00 Tonight I shall play Russian roulette live in this barn behind me.
00:05 One gun, one bullet.
00:07 The illusion of being alive at the end of the show.
00:10 As ever, no actors or stooges are used in making this program.
00:14 [Music]
00:42 This evening I will play Russian roulette live with one person chosen from the 12,000 to apply to load the gun.
00:49 Tonight you'll see how I selected that one individual,
00:52 and I'll demonstrate some of the tricks and techniques that I will use to survive tonight's performance.
00:57 Before we begin, I should point out that this evening's event takes place in a controlled environment
01:03 with the full cooperation and supervision of firearms experts.
01:06 Russian roulette should not, under any circumstances, be copied.
01:10 It is extremely dangerous.
01:12 If I'm not 100% certain that I can pull it off, I won't pull the trigger.
01:17 [Music]
01:26 I am sat here surrounded by videotapes from people that love the show and wanted to apply for Russian roulette.
01:34 There are 500 of them.
01:37 The place is a mess, and I'm sat going through them.
01:41 I'm looking for someone to play with.
01:43 It all started with a trailer we put out.
01:45 This was asking for people to go to a website and fill in a form and apply if they wanted to take part in the Russian roulette.
01:51 Your task will be to load a single bullet into a revolver.
01:57 My task will be not to die.
02:00 12,000 people responded to that.
02:03 We got back in touch with about 1,500 of them and asked them to send in tapes.
02:08 I am now sat with the result of that process, 500 tapes.
02:12 Everyone's heard of Russian roulette, but nobody ever plays it, do they?
02:16 I think for me it's very much an involvement and a new experience.
02:19 It's making history. It's saying, "This happened here, now, and I want to witness that place in time."
02:25 Derren Brown is the master, and I'd love to see him in action.
02:28 Out of these 500 tapes, I need to find 100 people to invite to London.
02:33 Those 100 people will come meet me. I get to meet them.
02:37 They will undergo a series of tests as a group to whittle them down from the 100 down to 5 people.
02:43 Those 5 people will then come with me to our secret location where the game will be played.
02:48 Just before the game is played, they'll whittle down to one person.
02:51 There's one person out of the 12,000 people that applied, out of the several million people that watched that advert.
02:59 I can try and describe these processes to you, but in the end it is just an instinct because all these things become unconscious.
03:05 There are things in the way they dress, or the way they look, the way they make eye contact, or don't, or even the way they talk.
03:10 Or they remind you of somebody, which you bring all that baggage to.
03:14 In the end, I just see them and I feel them, and I know that's the right sort of person or it's the wrong sort of person.
03:19 It's the only way I can describe it.
03:22 There are 6 chambers and 1 bullet in the game of Russian Roulette.
03:28 One of the first tricks I learned was to tell under which of 6 numbered cups someone had placed an object
03:34 by having them look at each cup in turn or count from 1 to 6.
03:38 The Russian Roulette game is simply an expansion of the same game.
03:43 Can you take your bracelet off for a second?
03:48 OK, thank you very much indeed.
03:50 Two cups. I'll look the other way.
03:53 You take your bracelet, you put the bracelet under one of the cups.
03:56 And you feel free to move around a bit so I can't tell which one it's gone under, but I'll look the other way. Go.
04:01 Done?
04:09 Yep.
04:10 OK, right.
04:12 Let me tell you why I'm hoping you just put that under number 1.
04:14 Because what people tend to do, even numbers are kind of warm and comfortable.
04:18 People tend to go for even numbers. I'm hoping you're going to try and catch me out and put it under number 1.
04:21 That's what I hope.
04:23 No, that's great. It's terrific.
04:25 It means this is easier for me because you're going to try and catch me out, which actually in a way makes you more predictable.
04:29 So it also means what I will, I will try and do this without, yeah,
04:33 I'm not even going to try and influence you or use any language tricks to manipulate you or anything.
04:37 It's absolutely fair, alright?
04:38 We'll do it with 4 cups.
04:39 Put it under any one of the 4.
04:41 Completely 3 choice, alright?
04:43 It's up to you.
04:44 Go. 3 choice.
04:46 Alright.
04:47 Is he done?
04:58 Yeah, yeah.
05:02 You done it?
05:03 Yep.
05:04 OK, alright. Look at me.
05:06 Let me just tell you first, alright, I'm hoping it's number 1 again.
05:09 Specifically because I told you the first time that you've done something that everybody tends to do.
05:13 It's that feeling like you felt you were obvious.
05:15 So the second time, of course, you're going to want to catch me out.
05:17 And the easiest way of doing that is to keep it in the same one a second time.
05:20 Yeah. Excellent.
05:22 Again?
05:23 No, I give up.
05:24 No, no, no. We'll do it with 6 cups.
05:26 Alright, let's go.
05:27 We'll do it with 6 cups.
05:28 Feel free when you've done this to move them around.
05:30 I don't want you thinking that there's anything to do with the way the cups are pointing, alright?
05:32 So you can change the numbers around. You can do whatever you like.
05:34 No problem.
05:35 Let me just make that absolutely fair and evenly spaced.
05:37 OK?
05:38 Go.
05:39 Interesting.
05:46 You done?
05:50 Yep.
05:51 Oh, Jesus.
05:53 Let's just think.
05:58 You did one twice in a row, you were trying to catch me out.
06:02 Yeah.
06:03 Look at me, just count out loud from 1 to 6.
06:06 Take your hands out of your pockets, just look at me.
06:08 Relax.
06:09 Nice and slowly, clearly, from 1 to 6, go.
06:12 1.
06:13 Yeah.
06:14 2.
06:15 Yeah.
06:16 3.
06:17 Yeah.
06:18 4.
06:19 Mm-hmm.
06:20 5.
06:21 Yeah.
06:22 6.
06:23 Yeah.
06:24 I'm going to turn over all the ones it's not under, alright?
06:25 Alright.
06:26 I'll turn over 5.
06:27 OK.
06:28 You ready?
06:29 Yeah, I'm ready.
06:30 You doing that one?
06:33 Yeah.
06:35 Thank you so much indeed.
06:36 That is quality.
06:37 That is absolutely quality.
06:39 I've absolutely done everything I could to see if this guy was somehow trying to cheat
06:43 or if there was anything going on and there's nothing going on, he's just...
06:46 That's the first time I've been shot like that in my life.
06:48 Just baffled, as I said.
06:49 I'm absolutely baffled.
06:51 I asked them on the tape to say what their average day is,
07:00 beginning with the words, "My average day is..."
07:02 "My average day is..."
07:05 It's so interesting how this shows people's self-perception,
07:09 their self-promotion, how they want to promote themselves,
07:11 and their self-esteem.
07:13 My average day...
07:15 Um...
07:16 Have a shower.
07:17 Oh, get ready.
07:19 Shh.
07:20 I like to do a bit of stair diving.
07:22 Music.
07:23 I enjoy...
07:24 Listening to...
07:25 I love gardening.
07:26 Feeding Murphy.
07:27 Feeding myself.
07:28 Read and go to sleep.
07:30 The other thing on the tape was to dance.
07:32 I said at the end of the tape, "I want you to do a dance.
07:34 "It's a ten-second dance, but you have to do it.
07:36 "If you don't, you are eliminated."
07:38 And, of course, that's about their bravery, commitment,
07:41 and, of course, for me, it's hilarious to watch.
07:44 But that is embarrassing for people,
07:46 so I wouldn't dream of showing any of those clips.
07:48 MUSIC
07:51 So I invited my 100 favourites to London for a day of fun and games.
08:13 It's going to be a piece of television history,
08:17 so I'll be able to say that I'm a part of that.
08:19 That's why I applied.
08:20 I am fascinated by what he does, and I want to know how he does it.
08:24 The boys are nutter, and I just want to meet him and find out
08:27 whether it's just daftness or genius or something else driving him.
08:32 I'm feeling nervous.
08:34 And I keep looking at other people, and my belly's going.
08:37 You don't know what he's looking for. That's the problem.
08:40 I prefer to leave quickly rather than get into the last ten.
08:43 I think if you got down to the last ten, or even a sixth person,
08:46 that would be quite nasty.
08:48 It's not a talent show kind of situation
08:50 where I'm in competition with everybody else.
08:52 Everyone's just basically here, shown who they are.
08:54 If we can be views to Derren, fantastic.
08:56 If not, then thanks for the day.
08:58 Morning!
09:02 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
09:05 Thank you very much for coming.
09:11 In a moment, I'm going to get you all to follow me through into another room.
09:15 There are exactly 100 of you here.
09:17 And you're going to undergo a series of tests, psychological games, if you like,
09:21 to whittle you down from 100 to 5.
09:24 And those five people will then come with me to our secret location,
09:27 which I can tell you now is Barbados.
09:30 CHEERING
09:32 It's not. I just made that up. It's not.
09:35 It's not Barbados. It's not Barbados.
09:38 The games will be ruthless,
09:40 and some of you will be out within moments of walking into the other room.
09:43 I'm aware a lot of you have travelled far, so I want to apologise for that now,
09:47 because when we're in the room, I won't necessarily be able to be very civil, OK?
09:51 So, I'm going to come down,
09:53 and I would like you to follow me through to the other room.
09:58 When you're in the other room, I want you to take a seat,
10:01 wherever feels comfortable, and as quickly as you can.
10:09 Later tonight, I'll play Russian roulette in this barn behind me.
10:13 So far, you've seen how I whittled 12,000 applicants down to 100,
10:17 and here's how a further 95 of them were eliminated.
10:21 I'd like you to come through and find a chair as quickly as you can in the room, please.
10:35 Pass the message down.
10:37 OK, so the first round is as follows.
10:39 There are 100 of those. There are only 90 chairs.
10:43 So the first 10 people that don't find a chair will be eliminated,
10:46 and will be out of the game.
10:48 Quick as you can, grab a seat, please.
10:50 Is that all the seats taken?
11:02 Yes.
11:03 Thank you. That was round one.
11:05 There are 100 of you. There are only 90 seats.
11:08 Those of you not quick enough or keen enough to get a seat,
11:10 I'm afraid, have eliminated yourselves already from the game.
11:13 Thank you very much for taking part.
11:14 If you'd like to make your way back through the doors.
11:16 Thank you very much.
11:18 Right, those of you laughing in the back row,
11:25 you're also eliminated from the game.
11:27 The back row personality, unassertive, nervous, not interested in you, I'm afraid.
11:31 You're going to have to go.
11:32 I'm terribly sorry if you'd like to make your way again through the doors.
11:35 And you can take the front row with you.
11:37 You're all way too eager to shoot me in the head.
11:39 If you'd like to make your way back through the doors.
11:41 Thank you for taking part.
11:43 Really stupid. It was such an obvious mistake to make.
11:51 You expect a few tricks, and I didn't expect you to be quite this dirty, though.
11:54 We were very lazy. We were just ambling along, and he's got to get cracking, so...
11:57 It was a fair comment, really.
11:59 I'll remember next time how ruthless Darren Brown actually is.
12:02 The rest of you, you've got three minutes to take your chairs
12:05 and form three rows along the long side of the room,
12:09 facing into the middle of the room.
12:11 Do that now. Thank you.
12:13 All relaxed? Yeah?
12:27 Good.
12:29 Robert, where have you come from?
12:31 North London. Good to see you. Edward?
12:33 Ipswich.
12:34 Yeah, you're eliminated if you'd like to...
12:36 No, I'm joking.
12:38 A golden envelope I'm going to place here on the chair.
12:43 We're going to play a game, and the game is called Cross the Room.
12:47 And in the game of Cross the Room,
12:49 you decide whether or not you want to stay where you're sat,
12:51 or whether you want to cross the room.
12:54 Then, after a number of you have crossed the room, or stayed here,
12:58 somebody will open the envelope.
12:59 The envelope contains a message.
13:01 It either says that everybody that crossed the room is eliminated,
13:05 or it says that everybody that stayed here is eliminated.
13:08 It's as simple as that.
13:10 I'm going to point out some people who must cross.
13:13 Stand for me, Stuart.
13:15 Natalie.
13:17 Elizabeth.
13:19 David.
13:21 Francis.
13:23 Stuart.
13:24 Daniel, you're going to cross.
13:25 Edward, you're going to cross.
13:27 Philip.
13:28 These people must cross. Have a look at them.
13:30 Are these people I want to keep, or are these people I want to eliminate?
13:33 This is the only clue you're going to get.
13:35 Sit down again for me.
13:37 By crossing, are you eliminating yourself, or are you keeping yourself in the game?
13:41 I'm going to give you five minutes to make that decision.
13:44 A maximum of 35 people can cross.
13:47 That's half of you.
13:49 Your five minutes starts now. Let's play Cross the Room.
14:14 Will the few seats at the back?
14:17 I swear to God, if you cross the room and sit on that side, you're through to the next round.
14:29 Four, three, two, one, zero.
14:34 That is your five minutes up.
14:35 The chap with the envelope, would you please stand for me? Thank you, Daniel.
14:38 Open up the envelope.
14:39 Inside is a folded piece of paper.
14:41 In your nicest, clearest voice, will you read out what that says inside?
14:46 I'm terribly sorry, but all the people who did not cross are eliminated.
14:50 Everyone on this side has won.
14:52 Simple as that.
14:57 Let me explain. The point of that was, I needed people that would respond to the suggestion of crossing over the room.
15:02 People that would simply obey that command that was there.
15:05 I'm terribly sorry you didn't do that. I'm going to ask you to leave.
15:08 Thank you so much. Thank you.
15:15 Congratulations, all of you.
15:16 What I'd like you to do is to take your chairs and form seven rows of five in the centre of the room with spaces in between.
15:24 And then when you've done that, if you can go to the back of the room, grab a sheet of card and a marker pen, then come and sit back down.
15:30 Thank you very much. If you can do that now for me.
15:32 We had a choice whether we could sit across the room or not, and I moved.
15:36 And then I moved back again, and it turns out that I moved to the wrong side.
15:41 It's a wonderful way to lose, actually, because I'd rather not be suggestible than go through.
15:47 Right. So you all have a card and a marker pen.
15:51 What I'd like you to do for me now is to draw a face.
15:55 All right. Now you can interpret that in any way you like, but you need to make sure the face you draw, A, is large and clear,
16:00 but also that it has some distinguishing feature, something about it idiosyncratic enough that you'd be able to recognise it later on.
16:07 I'm going to give you a few minutes to do that. Large and clear. Go.
16:23 Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
16:29 Please hold it up against like this so I can't see it as I turn around.
16:32 I'm going to ask you in a moment to pass them up to the front. Keep them face down.
16:37 I'm going to ask one of you, just caught my eye, chap at the back, hang on to yours, all right?
16:43 The rest of you can pass them all forward so they end up with the person at the front of your column.
16:47 The person at the front of the column who ends up with them, just give them a little mix around.
16:52 And if you can pass them along when you're done, and again, as you get them, feel free to mix them around a little bit more.
16:58 Thanks, Jamie, that's great. Okey-doke, thank you.
17:04 Nope.
17:07 Interesting.
17:10 No.
17:14 Nope, psychopath.
17:18 Nymphomaniac.
17:24 The way that we draw faces says so much about the way we see ourselves and the way we see each other.
17:30 So, okay, I'm looking at one here now. What this drawing says is noise.
17:34 Nobody better than I did. Let me just show you.
17:37 The marks here, they're like sand marks. It's the mouth and the shouting.
17:40 You can see someone who's energetic, yeah, because of the lines, because of all this,
17:44 and somebody who works with sound, who works with loud music.
17:49 Mo, is this yours? Is that your drawing? Yeah, it is your drawing.
17:52 Okay, this one here, this one is all about looking.
17:56 Again, nobody better than I did, please. Let me just show you.
17:58 There are two things here. First of all, I said this is the eyes that somebody would draw who works in the visual field.
18:03 It's also, it looks animated. It looks like a cartoon character.
18:07 These are also the eyes of a dog lover.
18:11 Who had the spaniel called Ralphie? That was you, James, yes? Is this your drawing?
18:14 Yeah, and you do, don't you? You work in graphic?
18:17 Yeah, motion. Motion graphic, exactly, yeah. Fantastic. Excellent.
18:21 So there's a guy at the back. Would you stand up for me? Don't let me see your drawing, just hold it against your chest.
18:25 Alright.
18:28 The first questions I start to ask are, "Will Daniel be self-obsessed enough to draw a reflection of himself, or one of me?"
18:34 You've got a dark sort of look that you obviously like.
18:37 You're wearing an earring, I can't really see from here, or two.
18:40 You've got, yeah.
18:43 And there'll be some sort of...
18:58 I'm tempted to give it a goatee, but I think not.
19:02 Evil face, dark eyebrows, grin, earring. Will you turn it around?
19:05 Show us all clearly?
19:08 Thank you, Wendy.
19:16 Alright, all those of you whose pictures are now on there, including you, Dan, just stand for me.
19:24 Congratulations, you're all through. The rest of you, I'm afraid, I'm going to ask you to go home.
19:28 Thank you ever so much. Round of applause for them, please.
19:33 Maybe my picture was over-elaborate. I think he was looking for sort of clarity.
19:40 Well, I was a bit gutty, because he put my drawing on the board and then took it down again, so I was a bit at that point.
19:44 I didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
19:46 I thought, you know, really in with a chance now, and it's all going so well. So, really disappointed.
19:52 Okay, I'm going to come and split you into groups of three.
19:57 So, you're going to be three as a group. That's great. If you can move around here, David, and if you could come out here, I'll put you there with Jamie.
20:04 James, if you come over here and swap with Sharon. Daniel, if you can come around here with these two. Can you come forward for me?
20:10 I'm just going to write down the names of some of you.
20:24 Okay.
20:29 I'm going to give you a few minutes to decide which person from your group will now be eliminated.
20:36 Put your case to the other two as to why you should stay. Over to you in your own time. Thank you.
20:46 How would you like to stay, David?
20:54 So, are we supposed to be making a clear decision? Or am I supposed to say, "Well, you should go because you have the glasses on"?
21:00 I'm very grateful for you getting this far. I'm quite happy for you two. You want to go for it.
21:07 I'm just going to see who we think and the person that has the most votes is one person.
21:16 I'm happy with that as well.
21:19 I'm trying to be sure I'm doing it right.
21:21 Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Thank you.
21:35 Can I ask the person, please, who's being eliminated from this group to stand?
21:39 Your name is?
21:40 Daniel Love.
21:41 Can I ask the person who's being eliminated from this group to stand?
21:43 Warren.
21:44 From that group?
21:45 Your name is?
21:46 Jamie.
21:47 The person who's being eliminated from this group, please stand. Your name?
21:51 James.
21:52 And lastly, the person being eliminated from this group, please stand. Daniel.
21:57 What this is, is survival of the fittest. But it's also survival of the shrewdest.
22:03 It's quite easy when you're in groups of three for two of you to gang together and vote the third person out.
22:09 Now, in terms of the sort of person that I want sat opposite me across the table when I've got a loaded gun,
22:14 do I want a shrewd calculating opportunist? No.
22:18 I'm after people that are more modest and compliant and the sort of people that would allow themselves to be eliminated in a game like this.
22:26 So that is David, Warren, Jamie, Daniel and James.
22:33 Which is why, when I put you into groups, the five names of the people I wanted to come with me were Daniel, Warren, Jamie, David and James.
22:45 Congratulations, you five, you are coming with me.
22:53 Sick, annoying, destructive.
22:57 One of our team mates decided to volunteer himself straight away.
23:01 It dawned on me straight afterwards what exactly was happening, by which time he got his foot in the door and that was that.
23:06 Make us proud.
23:08 I'm really excited because Warren went through, so I was really happy about that.
23:12 Because it was hard to do that voting thing.
23:14 He's written down the names that he wanted and it proved to be right, so I think he knew what sort of people he was looking for anyway.
23:19 Congratulations, first of all, obviously.
23:21 But I just want to have a moment with you before we go any further.
23:25 I need to know that you are aware of what's in store.
23:29 That any one of you will have to load a bullet into a revolver, hand the revolver to me, I'll put the gun against my head
23:39 and I will be risking my life on my ability to read from you your unconscious signals.
23:50 If you don't want to be in that position, you can absolutely say so now and you can walk away and that's absolutely fine.
23:56 But I need to know that you are absolutely happy with this before we go any further.
24:00 Yeah, do you want to?
24:02 Yeah, I'd be happy to.
24:04 Yeah, okay, well then, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on board, James.
24:07 Daniel.
24:08 Jamie, Warren and Daniel, thank you so much.
24:12 The five seemed confident, but the next stage was to see how they would cope with loading a Model 28 Smith & Wesson revolver.
24:20 Very soon you'll see me choose the person who'll load the gun.
24:34 And to prepare, we all went to a firing range.
24:38 Under British law, you're not allowed to fire a live round unless you are a qualified armourer.
24:45 This is why the live game has to take place overseas.
24:49 Our armourer wishes to remain anonymous throughout the show.
24:55 This is a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, okay?
25:02 If you push the cylinder opening catch forward and push out with your hand from underneath, the cylinder will open.
25:08 To load the weapon, take a cartridge.
25:11 This one is a dummy cartridge, okay?
25:13 It has a red end.
25:15 The ones that we will use on the day will not be painted red, okay?
25:17 They will be live rounds.
25:19 We then put the cartridge into the weapon.
25:23 We then close the cylinder, like so, and lock it forward.
25:27 I'm now going to unload it and make it safe.
25:30 If I cock the gun, you can see the cylinder rotates.
25:34 There are some numbers painted on to the cylinder, so that you will know which cylinder you put the bullet in.
25:41 Okay, what I'd like to move on to now is for you gentlemen to load the gun.
25:45 If you'd like to come round first, sir.
25:48 Okay.
25:49 Darren, if you'd like to just move slightly out of the way.
25:51 So if you'd like to pick the gun up, keeping it pointed in a safe direction.
25:53 Open the weapon up then.
25:55 And I would like you to put a cartridge in chamber number two.
26:05 And then close it up.
26:09 Put a blank in cylinder number five.
26:13 That's good, okay.
26:15 Close it up.
26:16 Cylinder number three.
26:21 Blank cartridge in cylinder number four.
26:27 Cylinder number six.
26:29 Put it in.
26:31 Close it up.
26:34 Some people might think I could play Russian roulette safely with a blank bullet.
26:39 Our armourer took us outside to demonstrate the damage a blank causes at close range.
26:44 Here we have the blank round and we're now going to load the gun.
26:53 To reproduce Darren firing a blank against his head, this is what happens.
27:05 This is the entry hole.
27:07 This is the exit hole.
27:09 Blowing the top off the bottle.
27:12 As you can see, blanks can be just as dangerous at close range as a live round.
27:16 As it became increasingly real for the six of us, our armourer loaded a live round.
27:21 Here we have the live round.
27:24 I'm loading the bullet into number three.
27:27 Number three.
27:30 And I'm now closing the chamber.
27:49 As you saw from the gun being fired, there's no flash.
27:51 It's very different from as you see it in the movie.
27:55 Any questions to that?
27:57 Anything at all?
28:01 The next test was to see how accurately I could predict their behaviour by this point.
28:09 We're going to play a game. The game is word association.
28:11 You all know the game.
28:12 Yes, someone says a word, you say a word, but you would instinctively connect with it.
28:15 Any hesitation, any repetition, you're out.
28:18 And I want you just to take a seat on one of those over there, any chair that you like.
28:22 Daniel, I'll start with you.
28:23 Your starting word is friendly.
28:27 Unfriendly.
28:29 Rubbish. Rubbish.
28:31 James, go take a seat.
28:32 All right, start again.
28:35 Jamie, your starting word is dull.
28:38 Boring.
28:40 Passive.
28:41 Active.
28:42 Sub.
28:43 Above.
28:44 Below.
28:45 Around.
28:47 Before.
28:48 After.
28:52 Food.
28:54 Take a seat.
28:56 Warren?
28:58 Ridiculous.
28:59 Amazing.
29:01 Clever.
29:02 Thick.
29:03 Thin.
29:04 Skinny.
29:05 Fat.
29:06 Heavy.
29:07 Large.
29:08 Big.
29:09 Tiny.
29:10 Small.
29:11 Minute.
29:12 Infantessimal.
29:14 Minuscule.
29:18 Go and take a seat.
29:23 Okay, just two of you left, head to head.
29:25 Jamie, boring.
29:27 Dull.
29:28 Yeah, repetition.
29:29 Go take a seat.
29:31 Which makes Warren our winner.
29:32 If you'd like to take a seat as well, Warren, either one.
29:36 Well done, and congratulations, Warren.
29:38 Interesting that none of you sat in the black chair, that the black was left free.
29:42 That's the one that would attract me most.
29:44 That would be my chair out of the six.
29:47 In fact, James, if you want to just pull out from underneath, there's an envelope.
29:52 Just take it out and show the camera what that says, and then place it on the chair.
29:57 It says "Darren's Chair."
30:00 Although you're probably now wondering what it says under your own chairs.
30:02 Daniel L., Daniel Love, will you just take that out for me?
30:08 Open it up, show the camera.
30:09 Daniel L.'s chair.
30:10 In fact, all of you, just pull out the envelopes.
30:14 Daniel P.'s chair. James, open it up, show the camera.
30:18 James' chair.
30:20 Jamie's chair.
30:22 I'm afraid to diminish it.
30:24 That'll be Warren's chair.
30:27 And you'll also notice that you've arranged yourselves into perfect alphabetical order,
30:30 going through Daniel L., Daniel P., Darren for me, James, Jamie, and Warren.
30:36 Congratulations, you five. You are fitting into these patterns I need absolutely perfectly.
30:40 Well done. Thank you.
30:42 It would appear that we're all falling into Darren's master plan, and he's starting to read us rather well.
30:48 More confused by why I was thinking the color green the moment I walked into the room.
30:51 The fact that I was wearing a yellow T-shirt might have played a part in it,
30:55 but I suppose I could have picked any color at the time.
30:58 The man is putting his life at risk, and I'm just glad that he's actually reading us well.
31:03 I'm starting to wonder if there's anything he doesn't know about us.
31:11 And at the end of that day, I took them out for dinner.
31:25 I suggest a game. Are you enjoying that?
31:29 You drank it all.
31:30 I'm going.
31:33 All right. This is the cork. I'll place that in the center.
31:37 James, I'd like you to take the cork, hold it under the table.
31:42 All of you put your hands under the table.
31:47 I want you to pass the cork around under the table,
31:49 but try not to give any indication of who's got it or who's passing it to whom.
31:53 All right?
31:54 Okay.
31:55 We'll look the other way for this.
31:56 Go.
32:01 You can shake as much as you like.
32:09 Okay, that's it. Stop.
32:10 Whoever's got it now, just hang on to it.
32:11 Keep your hands under the table.
32:13 All right.
32:14 Now, I spent a couple of days with you all,
32:16 and I've got a sense of your personalities and how you interact as a group.
32:19 I should be able to do this.
32:21 James took the cork to start with.
32:24 I see you all as animals.
32:25 This goes back to the caricature that I do, the painting that I do.
32:29 James, I see, as a deer, like a baby deer, you know, one that can't walk properly yet.
32:37 You've got one of the stronger members of the group right next to you.
32:41 I think you would just pass it straight to him.
32:43 Warren, then--
32:46 Initially, I saw you as like a mole,
32:48 but I see you more now as one of those Komodo lizards, just sit very still.
32:52 I'm sure you'd love this as well.
32:54 Just quite intensely watching, and then they would just--
32:56 the tongue would come out, and they'd just grab.
32:58 I think you'd just pass that on as well.
33:00 Daniel's different. Daniel's the cat, the black cat, a little more detached, a little cooler,
33:05 rather fond of itself, prone to licking itself,
33:10 more likely to try and mess things up a little.
33:12 I think you'd have passed it back or you'd have passed it across.
33:14 And then it would have gone across again to Jamie, the Labrador.
33:19 You'd have just passed it on again to you.
33:22 Daniel, I kind of see you as the shaggy but good-natured mongrel,
33:28 very good-natured but not properly house-trained yet.
33:31 I think you'd have tried to mess things up.
33:32 You'd have had to pass it around. You wouldn't have wanted to come across this.
33:34 You'd have passed it around again.
33:36 But ultimately, what's interesting in this power play is who you will eventually work towards,
33:41 who you will think towards.
33:43 And I'm hoping that the cork would end up with a person that you all but unconsciously perceive
33:47 as the leader of the group, who is the one that in his own way is most controlling.
33:54 The cork at this point can only have ended up with you, Warren.
34:01 Will you just bring your hands up for me?
34:03 If you have got it, or if you haven't got it, I don't mind, just keep your hands like this for a second.
34:12 There's no other answer. You must have it. Open your hands.
34:15 Yeah. Yeah, seriously.
34:28 Because of the British gun laws, we've travelled overseas to play Russian roulette in a secret location.
34:42 Guys, right, for four of you this is as far as it goes.
34:47 I can only take one of you through to play the game.
34:49 So I just want to thank you all now for doing this and taking part and being so extraordinary.
34:53 Daniel, it's been a real pleasure. Daniel.
34:55 Thank you.
34:56 Jamie.
34:57 James.
34:58 James.
34:59 And Warren, you too.
35:01 Thank you very much.
35:02 All right, if you look in front of you, you'll see these cameras here.
35:04 I want you from now on just to keep looking at the cameras.
35:06 Even when I'm not talking to you, just keep looking straight ahead.
35:08 Please try not to move your hands.
35:10 Those cameras there right in front of you, just keep looking right into them.
35:13 OK, let me bring some lights up on you.
35:16 One last task for you. I want you all to think of a word.
35:19 Now you may not want to go for the first word that comes to mind.
35:21 That's fine. Feel free to change your mind a few times, but then settle on one word for me now.
35:26 From now on, do not change your mind.
35:28 Stick with whatever you've got now and be absolutely honest when I ask you what your word is.
35:32 OK, first of all, we've got the camera on. Daniel, love, please. Thank you.
35:36 All right, OK, so Daniel, all the way through this has been trying to remain very sceptical, cynical and absolutely solid and detached from the whole thing.
35:43 You can see this here. You can see it in his eyes.
35:45 Absolutely solid. This would be a solid word.
35:48 A detached, controlling word like...
35:50 Like in control.
35:53 Or solid.
35:55 Daniel, what's your word?
35:56 Fox.
35:58 OK.
35:59 And I'm sorry, I can't use you.
36:01 OK, Daniel, pipe, please.
36:05 This could be two things. This could be two things from Daniel.
36:08 And it's either...
36:10 I have a feeling this is to do with fragility as a very sensitive character.
36:15 And then this is a sensitive personality under pressure, which is what it's feeling now.
36:19 It could be one of two things. I have a feeling it's that.
36:21 So it could be a fragile word, fragility, like...
36:24 Like egg or glass or china, something that breaks under pressure.
36:28 Something like that. What's your word, Daniel?
36:32 Glass.
36:33 Fantastic. Jamie, please.
36:36 Jamie, OK.
36:40 OK, with Jamie here, I think what he's doing...
36:42 It could be a couple of things. He could be giving me calmness.
36:45 But I think what it is, a feeling of being above it all.
36:47 And somehow sort of looking down.
36:49 And looking down, you know, just sort of being above the whole thing.
36:53 And if that's what he's doing, I can't use it.
36:55 So it could be a word just flying above the process.
36:57 Like a plane or a kite or something like that.
37:02 Something like that. Something above looking down.
37:06 You can see it. It's in the mouth.
37:08 What's your word, Jamie?
37:10 Kite.
37:11 Kite. OK, thank you.
37:13 I can't use it. I can't use it.
37:17 James.
37:19 I think James is around all of this.
37:22 It's just the level of nervousness.
37:26 Keep looking to the camera, please. Straight at the camera.
37:29 It's like a little boy. It's like he's so in touch with the level of reality.
37:34 And the fear is so much stronger with him.
37:37 It's like a little boy who's lost his mother in a department store.
37:41 This will be a fear.
37:44 It's just nerves. He's just getting nerves from him.
37:47 Shaking.
37:50 Or nervousness. Or that sort of thing.
37:52 James, what's your word?
37:54 Nervous.
37:56 Thank you. And Warren?
37:58 Warren?
38:00 Warren, what's your word?
38:08 Sheep.
38:11 OK, that's close enough. Can I have a wide shot, please?
38:15 Daniel Pipes. The fragility of that connection you made.
38:21 I'm sorry, Daniel. It's not going to be you either.
38:27 This leaves you two.
38:32 It leaves Warren and James.
38:34 And James, it's going to be you.
38:40 OK? Yeah.
38:41 Is that OK? Yeah.
38:43 Excellent. All right, thank you.
38:50 James, I've given you a couple of minutes to gather your thoughts.
38:53 I want to explain to you why it was that I chose you.
38:56 I'm sorry, I'm going to leave you out of the group,
38:58 aside from the fact that I read your word correctly.
39:00 But out of the whole group, you are the only one who I feel has really embraced the reality of this
39:05 and what I'm going to do.
39:07 But I want to check that you are OK with this and genuinely happy to do it.
39:10 Yes, I am.
39:11 You are? Terrific.
39:12 Then what I'm going to do is give you another session with the armourer.
39:15 And I won't have any contact with you and I won't speak with you until we actually play Russian roulette.
39:19 All right? Thank you. I'll ask you to get out then. Thanks very much.
39:24 (Russian roulette)
39:29 The game of Russian roulette that you're about to watch is being performed in a controlled environment
39:34 with the full cooperation of firearms experts.
39:37 And I know, as a viewer of this show, you'll be intelligent enough to be aware
39:41 that this should only be attempted by me, here, with this level of preparation and expertise.
39:48 Can we bring James up now, please?
40:02 You all right?
40:03 Yeah.
40:04 OK. This is the room where we're going to play it.
40:06 OK.
40:07 These are fixed remote control cameras around the room.
40:12 This here is bulletproof glass. You're going to be sat behind this for some of the time.
40:16 All right?
40:17 This is the table.
40:19 Before you sit down, I want you to check under the table there are no hidden cameras.
40:22 Do that for me now.
40:27 No, it's good.
40:28 All right. Have a seat for me. Thank you.
40:36 James, can I ask you to verify we have not spoken since you agreed to play the game?
40:39 No, we haven't.
40:40 And you've spent some time with the armourer, who's taken you through everything again,
40:43 and also explained this to you.
40:45 Yeah.
40:46 Can you explain what this is?
40:48 This is a shield we've had made.
40:50 When you load a bullet into a revolver, you can see, along the side here and at the front,
40:58 where the bullet lies, in which chamber it is.
41:01 We've had this shield made, which fits onto the top,
41:04 and stops either the camera or me from accidentally seeing where the bullet is.
41:08 Are you happy with that, and you're happy that's all the shield does?
41:10 Yes.
41:11 Yes?
41:12 Yeah, definitely.
41:13 OK. Thank you. I'm going to bring the armourer over.
41:34 Gentlemen, these are live rounds.
41:57 Please cover your ears.
42:19 James, select a round. Stand it there.
42:35 Thank you. Thank you.
42:37 Our armourer will now leave, along with our cameraman, for safety reasons.
42:42 The rest of this will now be filmed using these remote-control cameras.
42:47 OK? Aside from you and me, now, this room is empty.
42:52 Also, I want you to know we are going out live at the moment.
42:56 And also, James, I've signed a disclaimer.
42:58 I've signed a form that absolves you from any legal responsibility for this.
43:03 All right? Also, morally, you are not responsible for this.
43:06 It's my decision to do it, and I'm responsible for it. OK?
43:09 OK.
43:10 If it fucks up, it's not your fault. All right?
43:15 Take up the gun.
43:18 Take the gun under the table.
43:21 Can you see the numbers?
43:23 Yes.
43:24 OK. Move it around a bit. Familiarise yourself with the numbers.
43:26 Make sure you can see them clearly.
43:28 I want you to choose one of those numbers.
43:30 You keep that number to yourself and have a look at them now, and choose one.
43:33 This number you choose now, it doesn't matter which one it is.
43:35 You can change your mind as many times as you like, but you make that decision for me,
43:39 and you settle on a number.
43:41 Are you thinking of one now?
43:42 Yeah.
43:43 All right. You need to repeat that number to yourself over and over again, quietly in your head.
43:48 Fix that number in your mind.
43:50 Pick up the bullet.
43:54 You're going to place that bullet into the number chamber you were just thinking of.
43:57 As you do it, keep your fingers away from the trigger.
43:59 Do that for me now. Put it in.
44:01 Check as it goes in.
44:02 Double-check that it's going in the correct chamber, the one that you're thinking of.
44:05 Is it going in the correct one?
44:06 Yes, it is.
44:07 All right. Lock that number into your mind.
44:09 Keep your fingers away from the trigger. Keep the gun pointed down at the floor.
44:13 Feel free to move the cylinder around a bit.
44:15 You can move it as many times as you like, or spin it, whatever you like.
44:17 Whenever you're ready, close the cylinder, snap it shut, make sure it's closed.
44:22 Keep saying that number to yourself, James.
44:24 It's very important you remember it.
44:26 All right. Pick up the shield.
44:29 In the way the armorer has shown you, and keep your fingers away from the trigger as you do this,
44:32 you're going to place the shield now onto the gun.
44:35 Keep your fingers away from the trigger.
44:42 It's okay. Take your time.
44:43 Yeah, it's locked in.
44:45 Is it on?
44:46 Yeah.
44:47 In the way the armorer has shown you, again, without pointing the gun directly at you,
44:50 I want you to check that you can't see where the bullet is, neither from the side nor from the front.
44:56 Happy with that?
44:58 Yeah. Can't see it.
44:59 Great. Place the gun on the table for me.
45:05 All right.
45:07 That's the hard part over for you.
45:10 All you've got now in your mind is the number between 1 and 6.
45:13 You need to lock that number in your mind so tightly now.
45:16 All right? Just take a minute to do that for me now.
45:18 Otherwise, with the pressure of all of this, it will slip your mind over and over again to yourself.
45:24 All right? It's a number between 1 and 6. That's all this is now.
45:26 In a moment, I'll get you to count from 1 to 6. As long as you can do that, you're absolutely fine.
45:31 Okay.
45:32 Okay. Behind me is the bulletproof glass. Behind that's a chair.
45:34 You're going to go and sit in that chair for your own safety when I tell you to.
45:37 The chair is bolted to the floor.
45:39 You must not move out of the chair.
45:42 You must stay in the chair. All right?
45:45 Whatever happens, you don't move.
45:47 And whatever happens, you do not try and stop me.
45:50 Don't call out. Don't try and stop it. All right?
45:53 If I'm not 100% confident, I won't do it. I won't pull the trigger.
45:56 Okay.
45:57 Does that make sense?
45:58 Yes.
46:00 I'd like you to go and sit in the chair.
46:04 There are ear protectors on the chair. Just put them on your lap for now. You won't need them quite yet.
46:14 You sat in the chair?
46:16 Yes.
46:24 Can you see me in the gun?
46:26 Yes, I can.
46:28 James, I'm going to ask you in a moment to count from one to six. I'm only going to ask you to do this once.
46:32 You need to count clearly and slowly and loudly so I can hear you.
46:37 From one to six. Listen. Very important as you count, don't give me any clues. Don't try and help me.
46:44 If you try and help me, James, it will confuse me. And it's really important I'm not confused. Does that make sense?
46:49 Yes, it does.
46:51 All right. When I say go, just take a little while. Just take a moment to take a breath and relax.
46:56 And then count from one to six loudly, clearly and slowly.
47:02 Take a breath first. Go.
47:11 One, two, three, four, five, six.
47:20 Okay. Thank you.
47:23 I'm going to set the gun to a chamber that I feel is safe. That's number three.
47:30 Number three I feel is safe.
47:34 Each time that I pull the trigger, the chamber will rotate one round. So I'm going to start by firing number three, which I feel is safe,
47:41 and then four, then five, then six, and then one, and then two.
47:48 Number three I feel is safe. James, will you put your ear defenders on?
47:56 Number three I feel is safe.
48:08 Number four I feel is safe.
48:21 Number five.
48:31 [Gun cocks]
48:36 [Gun cocks]
48:46 [Gun cocks]
48:56 [Gun cocks]
49:06 [Gun cocks]
49:16 [Gun cocks]
49:26 [Gun cocks]
49:36 [Gun cocks]
49:46 [Gun cocks]
49:56 Stand up. Thanks.
50:04 [Laughs]
50:06 Okay.
50:07 Yeah. Yeah.
50:11 Did you have your eyes open? Were you watching?
50:13 Yeah, at that point I did, yeah.
50:16 You're extraordinary. Thank you.
50:28 Thanks, everybody.