The Magic Circle’s first female member fooled them into believing she was a man – how did she do it?
How did one woman fool the most famous magic society on the planet?
Back in 1991, Sophie Lloyd pulled off the ultimate illusion, tricking the Magic Circle into thinking she was a man.
But over 30 years after being unceremoniously kicked out, the Circle has tracked down the former actress to apologise and reinstate her membership.
She told Sky News how returning feels like the society has “made good on something that was wrong”.
Sophie Lloyd, who tricked the Magic Circle into believing she was a man
How did she infiltrate that exclusive group that nowadays counts the likes of David Copperfield and Dynamo as members?
In March of that year, she took her entry exam posing as a teenage boy, creating an alter-ego called Raymond Lloyd.
“I’d played a boy before,” she explained, but “it took months of preparation” to secretly infiltrate the Circle’s ranks half a year before it would officially vote to let women in.
“Really, going back 30 years, men’s clubs were like, you know, just something you accepted.”
The men-only rule had been in place since the Circle was formed in 1905. The thinking behind it being that women just couldn’t keep secrets.
Aware of the frustration of female magicians at the time, Lloyd felt she was up for the challenge of proving women could be as good at magic as the men.
The idea was, in fact, born out of a double act, thought up by a successful magician called Jenny Winstanley who’d wanted to join herself but wasn’t allowed.
She recognised the hoax would probably only work with a much younger woman posing as a teenage boy, and met Lloyd through an acting class.
Sophie Lloyd as teenage magician Raymond Lloyd. Pic: Sophie Lloyd
Lloyd said: “We had to have a wig made… the main thing was my face, I had plumpers made on a brace to bring his jawline down.”
To hide her feminine hands, she did the magic in gloves, which she says “was so hard to do, especially sleight of hand.”
The biggest test came when she was invited for a drink with her examiner, where she had to fake having laryngitis.
“After the exam, which was 20 minutes, he invited Jenny and I – she played my manager – and I sat there for one hour and three quarters and had to say ‘sorry, I’ve got a bad voice’.”
Raymond Lloyd passed the test, and his membership certificate was sent through to Sophie.
Then, in October of the same year, when whispers started circulating that the society was going to open its membership to both sexes, she and Jenny decided to reveal all. It didn’t go down well.
Read more:
Jelly Roll seeks pardon from criminal past
Harvey Weinstein retrial begins in New York
Rather than praise her performance, members were incandescent about the deception and, somewhat ironically, Raymond Lloyd was kicked out just before women members were let in.
Lloyd said: “We got a letter… Jenny was hurt… she was snubbed by people she actually knew, that was hurtful. However, things have really changed now…”
Three decades later the Magic Circle put out a nationwide appeal stating they wanted to apologise and Lloyd was recently tracked down in Spain.
While Jenny Winstanley died 20 years ago in a car crash, as well as Sophie receiving her certificate on Thursday, her mentor’s contribution to magic is being recognised at the special show that’s being held in both their honour at the Magic Circle.
Lloyd says: “Jenny was a wonderful, passionate person. She would have loved to be here. It’s for her really.”
Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein retrial: ‘He had all the power,’ prosecutor tells court as opening statements begin
The retrial of Harvey Weinstein has begun in New York – with a prosecutor telling the court the former Hollywood mogul used “dream opportunities as weapons” to prey on the three women accusing him of sexual abuse.
The case is being retried five years after the landmark #MeToo case against the producer, who was once one of the industry’s most powerful figures, after the appeals court last year overturned his conviction.
Weinstein, who is now 73, is charged with raping one woman and forcing oral sex on two others. He has strenuously denied the allegations.
Following a lengthy jury selection process due to the high-profile nature of the retrial, the prosecution has now opened its case at the same courthouse in Manhattan.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why is Weinstein getting a retrial?
Attorney Shannon Lucey told the court the Oscar-winning producer and studio boss used “dream opportunities as weapons” against the female accusers.
“The defendant wanted their bodies, and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got,” she said.
Weinstein had “enormous control over those working in TV and film because he decided who was in and who was out,” the court heard. “He had all the power. They had none.”
Dressed in a dark suit and navy tie, Weinstein listened to the prosecution’s statement after arriving in court in a wheelchair, as he has done for his recent appearances.
His lawyers are expected to outline their case later on Wednesday.
Steven Hirsch/ New York Post via AP/ pool
The opening statements got under way after the last jurors were finally picked on Tuesday, more than a week after the selection process began.
Prospective jurors were questioned about their backgrounds, life experiences and various other points that could potentially impact their ability to be fair and impartial about a case that has been so highly publicised. They have also been asked privately about their knowledge of the case and opinions on Weinstein.
Seven men and five women have been chosen to hear the trial.
Why is there a retrial?
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being found guilty of charges of sexual assault in 2006 and rape in 2013, relating to two women.
But in April 2024, New York’s highest court overturned the convictions due to concerns of prejudicial testimony and that the judge in the original trial had made improper rulings.
Prosecutors announced a retrial last year and a separate charge concerning a third woman, who was not part of the original trial, has since been added to the case. She alleges the producer forced oral sex on her at a hotel in 2006.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
Read more:
What has happened to the #MeToo movement?
Harvey Weinstein sues his brother Bob
At a preliminary court hearing in January, he begged for the retrial to be held as quickly as possible due to his deteriorating health, telling the judge: “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”
Weinstein was also sentenced in February 2023 after being convicted of rape during a separate trial in LA – which means that even if the retrial ends in not guilty verdicts on all three counts, he will remain behind bars.
His lawyers are also appealing this sentence.
Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Raye and Ghetts are among the artists nominated for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, along with a nod for Wham!’s Last Christmas.
Lola Young, whose single Messy was a huge hit in 2024, leads with three nominations, for best album, best song musically and lyrically, and the rising star award.
Other acts in the running for Ivors include Fontaines DC, BERWYN, Myles Smith, Laura Marling, JADE, Bashy, Conor Dickinson and Jordan Rakei.
Nominated composers also include writers for Oscar nominees including The Substance and The Zone Of Interest, hit shows such as Black Doves and Rivals, and games including Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II and Farewell North.
Wham! pictured in September 1984, three months before Last Christmas was released
And Wham! receive their nomination for Last Christmas as one of PRS for Music’s top five most performed songs of 2024 – a posthumous nod for George Michael, almost 30 years after his last win in 1997, for the single Fastlove. Despite never making it to number one when it was released in 1984, Last Christmas has topped the charts at Christmas for the last two years.
The festive track is up against Harry Styles‘ 2022 hit As It Was, which is in contention for the third year running, Dua Lipa‘s Houdini, Stargazing by Myles Smith, and Prada by Casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe.
The Ivors recognise creative musical achievement in songwriting and composition, and also celebrate a number of singer-songwriters and groups for their wider contribution to UK music. This year’s ceremony marks the 70th anniversary of the awards, and will take place on 22 May in London.
Charli XCX’s Brat is in the running for best album. Pic: Reuters
Some 74 composers and songwriters have been nominated this year, with two-thirds – including Young – up for awards for the first time.
It has already been announced that U2 will be inducted into the Academy Fellowship “in recognition of their enduring influence and impact on the craft of songwriting”. The bandmates – Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr – will become the first Irish songwriters to be inducted, following in the footsteps of artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Kate Bush and last year’s recipient, Bruce Springsteen.
Artists including Raye, Lana Del Rey, Skepta and KT Tunstall were also among last year’s winners.
Tom Gray, chair of The Ivors Academy, described the event as “the most joyful celebration of music making in the calendar”.
Congratulating the 2025 nominees, he added: “It’s a huge privilege for the Ivors Academy to champion music creation in all its forms.”
Here are this year’s nominees.
Dua Lipa’s Houdini is among the song nominees. Pic: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
BEST ALBUM
Brat – Charli XCX, AG Cook and Finn Keane
On Purpose, With Purpose – Ghetts and TenBillion Dreams
The Loop – Jordan Rakei
This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway – William Brown, Conor Dickinson, Jared Solomon and Lola Young
Who Am I – Berwyn
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Allergy – Felix Joseph, Alastair O’Donnell and Pa Salieu
Angel Of My Dreams – Pablo Bowman, JADE, Steph Jones and Mike Sabath
Circumnavigating Georgia – Sans Soucis
Double Standards – Ghetts, EMIL, Sampha Sisay and R-Kay
How Black Men Lose Their Smile – Bashy, Toddla T and Linton Kwesi Johnson
BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
Child Of Mine – Laura Marling
Genesis – Rodney Jerkins, RAYE and Toneworld
In The Modern World – Grian Chatten, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan, Thomas Coll and Carlos O’Connell (Fontaines DC)
Messy – Conor Dickinson and Lola Young
Mine – Orla Gartland
PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
As It Was – Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles
Houdini – Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle, Tobias Jesso Jnr, Dua Lipa and Kevin Parker
Last Christmas – George Michael
Prada – D-Block Europe, Obi Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Uche Ebele (Da Beatfreakz), Jahmori “Jaymo” Simmons and RAYE
Stargazing – Peter Fenn, Jesse Fink and Myles Smith
RISING STAR AWARD
Bea And Her Business
Liang Lawrence
Lola Young
LULU.
Nia Smith
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Fly Me To The Moon – Daniel Pemberton
Hard Truths – Gary Yershon
Kneecap – Michael “Mickey J” Asante
The Substance – composed by Raffertie
The Zone Of Interest – Mica Levi
BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
Empire Of The Ants – Mathieu Alvado and Mark Choi
Farewell North – John Konsolakis
Flock – Eli Rainsberry
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II – David Garcia Diaz
The Casting Of Frank Stone – Boxed Ape
BEST TV SOUNDTRACK
Black Doves – Martin Phipps
Mary & George – Oliver Coates
Rivals – Jack Halama and Natalie Holt
True Detective: Night Country – Vince Pope
Until I Kill You – Carly Paradis
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway