Derren Brown - Personal Life

Personal Life

Brown was an Evangelical Christian in his teens, but became an atheist in his twenties. This is discussed by Brown in the "Messiah" special, and in his book Tricks of the Mind. In an interview with Professor Richard Dawkins, Brown explained he sought to strengthen his belief and provide answers to common criticisms of religion by reading the Bible and other Christian religious texts, but upon doing so found none of the answers he sought and came to the conclusion that his belief (in Christianity) had no basis.

The Big Issue website described Brown as being "playfully mendacious". Although it has been said that Brown is banned from every casino in Britain, other sources report that casinos welcome the publicity from his visits.

In an interview with the Independent in 2007 Brown stated that he is gay. In an interview with the Radio Times in 2011 Brown talked more about his sexuality, stating that he is blissfully happy in a relationship. He said, "I spent a lot of time thinking about me and working on what I wanted to be before I came into a relationship. In some ways, it’s bad because you come into relationship quite late without a lot of experience and you have a lot to learn. But that can also be exciting. Certainly, it’s lovely to have somebody love you and it’s lovely to love someone else."

Since 2004 Brown has been the patron of the registered charity the Parrot Zoo Trust at Friskney in eastern Lincolnshire near Boston, England. In an interview with LeftLion magazine he said "I’m a big fan of parrots – I think they’re fascinating creatures. Many of them live for longer than us humans and it's interesting to me the way they learn to mimic human voices even though they don't really comprehend what they're saying."