Former TV conjurer Wayne Dobson defied multiple sclerosis to launch a new magic night in Brighton.

Organiser Mark Worgan, a former city councillor, started Klub Magic at Komedia to help put illusion firmly back on the entertainment agenda.

And for his first trick he brought in Wayne - who pulled in 11 million viewers to It's A Kind Of Magic, his Saturday prime time slot in TV magic's Eighties heyday.

Mark said of last week's show: "Wayne Dobson has MS now and cannot walk. He has someone lift him on stage, but he is still performing.

"I asked if he would come to our launch show and he was fantastic. The crowd really warmed to him and it was great to have him there.

"It says a lot that someone physically disabled is still able to go on performing."

Mark hopes the popularity of Klub Magic will mushroom.

He said: "Brighton has had nothing like this before in my life time.

"On the Komedia stage you can do absolutely anything. The idea is to have a mixture of stand-up cabaret, which you might see over dinner, to illusion acts to close-up acts projected across the theatre on to screens."

Klub Magic will be held on the first Monday of each month at the venue in Gardner Street until the end of the year.