‘IF you’re a sceptic come along and I’ll prove you wrong’ is the message from the UK’s most recognisable spirit medium who appears on a Stevenage stage later this month.

Derek Acorah returns to the Gordon Craig Theatre with his True Vision tour on Wednesday, August 24, so The Comet caught up with the 61-year-old ahead of the show to find out more.

Reporter Nick Gill asked the Liverpudlian, whose career has spanned more than three decades, what those seeing him for the first time can expect.

“A chance to connect with the world of the spirits through their loved ones,” he said, while on a two-week break in Spain – his only holiday of the year.

“That’s why I do it – to try and help people understand that there’s an afterlife.

“When I speak to people after the show and they tell me how it has helped them following the death of their mother or father, sister or brother, and the effect it’s had on them – that’s what’s kept me going for the last 36 years.”

Derek chooses who in the audience he will give a reading to with help from his ‘spirit guide’ Sam, who he describes as “invaluable” to him in coaxing out the spirits of loved ones.

And what of the doubters?

“I’m the only medium that comes off the stage to connect with people which I think is a validation of my work,” he said.

“If there’s a lot of sceptics it doesn’t bother me and people that have gone there as sceptics, asked to come along by their partner or friend, have gone back a different person.

“Say 30 years ago, 20 to 25 per cent of the audience were sceptics and, while it’s frequently reported otherwise, now in any given audience it’s less than one per cent.

“Even if there is a challenging audience I’m up for the challenge as I want to prove once and for all that what we do is the truth.”

Perhaps best-known for his six series of Most Haunted on Living TV, Derek described that time in the mid 2000s as “one of the biggest challenges I have had in my life as a medium – I found myself in very bizarre and unusual places.”

Those who have seen the spirit medium at work before at closer hand can expect more audience interaction this time too.

“I’ve speeded up over the years so I’m able to go to a lot more people now,” he said.

“At one time I’d probably go to about 10 people but now it’s 18-20. When I’m doing signings and photos after the show and there’s a connection I’ve helped people then too.”

About returning to the Lytton Way theatre, he added: “Every time I’ve come along the audience has always been very, very good so I’m looking forward to it.”

Tickets for The True Vision Tour cost �21.50 or �20 concessions. Call 01438 894802 or visit www.gordon-craig.co.uk to book.