Psychic stand-up: Becky Walsh
by Thomas Atkinson. Thursday, April 19 2007
It’s tempting to ask Becky Walsh, AKA the psychic stand up, if she knew that I was about to call but true to form she goes straight ahead and says that now is a good time to chat. “Bloody hell, I must be psychic, ” she laughs.
Walsh is host of The Psychic Show on LBC radio, the UK’s first psychic phone-in and, with 92,000 listeners, an increasingly popular show.
“I never do future predictions because that’s bollocks – the future is not set in stone,” she informs me.“So we have guests on the show who are experts in their particular fields whether it’s animal communication or dreams. I also do live readings for callers so it’s like a psychic version of [famous radio agony aunt] Anna Raeburn.” A psychic who doesn’t “do” the future may sound like the proverbial chocolate teapot but Walsh takes a different approach to her work.
“Most people have patterns in their lives that cause problems,” she explains. “With my intuitive ability I’ll go backwards and find when you created this problem.
“It’s quite heavy when you’re working on a professional level but I try to give people the tools to improve their future.” Walsh’s other line of work certainly isn’t heavy, as she brings her skills to the stage in The Stand-Up Psychic Show. “The thing about being a psychic is that it’s hilarious – there’s loads to pick on,” she says. “I decided it was a good combination because women usually believe in the psychic stuff but their boyfriends think it’s pants. If you can find something where girls can bring their partners but the men can go without saying they’re off to some purple- wearing, crystal ball-gazing show, then you can do something funny.”
So, combining comedy with the supernatural seems to be working. But if Walsh truly is psychic, surely she will see things in her audience that aren’t always that funny?
“Yes, but I wouldn’t bring it up, and if there was something overwhelming I’d offer to talk about it after,” she says. “It’s more light-hearted, like a psychic sideshow but everything is absolutely genuine. I don’t know how to put that in a nutshell but they will laugh, be wowed and amazed, and go away feeling really good – that’s what I’m aiming for.” With an offer like that, The Stand-Up Psychic Show is hard to refuse, and anyway, she’s probably expecting you...
Walsh’s radio show is on LBC 97.3 at 10pm every Friday, and The Stand up Psychic show takes place this Sunday at The Venue, Leicester Square, 5 Leicester Place, WC2, 0870 3800 973, 7pm, £17