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Derren Brown's 'Terror' After Theatre Plunge

Fans could be forgiven for thinking it was part of his act, but illusionist Derren Brown has told of the "terrifying" moment a man plunged over a balcony at one of his shows.

The incident happened during Brown's Infamous show at the Palace Theatre in London's West End on Saturday.

The man was reportedly sitting in the highest tier, 45ft (13.7m) up, when he was pushed by his wife as a joke.

Brown, 42, described on Twitter how the man fell over the balcony and was left hanging from the upper circle.

He tweeted: "Tonight a woman pushed her hubby as a joke from the front of the balcony. He fell and caught the upper circle on the way down, and was hanging from it. He's fine, but what a finale. Sending best thoughts to him & wife, terrifying."

On Monday, Brown also posted: "Been up to balcony of Palace Theatre - can’t work out how chap managed to get over edge. Front is 4 ft - v high. What were they up to?"

Theatregoer Rob Millwood described the incident to The Sun, saying: "He hit the lights and grabbed the bar with one arm. Three or four guys ran down the steps and pulled him back.

"A few inches to one side and there would have been nothing to break the fall."

The man fell 15ft (4.5m) before he managed to hold on to the lighting rig, the newspaper reported.

The Palace Theatre warns guests on its website not to sit in the highest tier if they are scared of heights or have limited mobility.

Derren Brown uses psychological manipulation to convince people to take part in stunts such as committing an armed robbery or playing Russian roulette.