Psychic's Astonishing Insights Reduced Singing Star To Tears Insights From Beyond The Grave Prompt Emotional Reactions From Celebs In Psychic Therapy, The New Series From The Daily Record's Own Psychic Barber, Gordon Smith. Graham Keal Talks To Gordon And Asks Mica Paris Why The Tears Flowed So Freely For Her Psychic Reunion

WHEN Mica Paris met Scot Gordon Smith in his new Psychic Therapy series, something he said made her instantly dissolve into tears.

That's not so surprising, as Mica, 39, lost her half-brother Jason seven years ago in a senseless shooting.

But the shock, to Mica more than anyone, was that it was not her brother that prompted the reaction.

Gordon had a message from Mica's aunt Shirley, who died of heart failure just over three years ago, aged 46, after a seemingly routine operation to replace her pacemaker.

She wanted to tell Mica she was still there for her, and she loved her baby daughter.

The soul singer and sassy What Not To Wear presenter was overwhelmed with emotion, and put her head in her hands and sobbed.

"It was powerful," Mica said. "It just knocked me sideways. I was not prepared for that. I was sceptical.

"I've seen this kind of programme on TV and I've thought 'Hmmm, yeah...', and I always switch off.

"But what he said really threw me. I thought, 'Bloody Norah, no one knows about Shirley. What's going on?' I stopped filming - I had to. I couldn't compose myself. I was a mess."

Mica had been virtually raised by Shirley and by her grandparents, and later lived with Shirley for eight years as she looked after Mica's eldest daughter, Monet, while mum was working. But only her family knew this.

Mica said: "I had never met Gordon in my life before and I'd never spoken about my aunt in interviews. Everybody expected Gordon to pick up on my brother because he was in the news when he was shot.

"I loved my brother, don't get me wrong, what happened to him was awful and traumatic, but the relationship with my auntie was very close.

"She was more than an aunt. She was my best friend, and I was devastated when she died. We were all expecting her to come home, and she didn't, she died.

"It was shock, absolute shock. I had obviously been walking around with all that pain, not realising it.

"I thought I was doing all right."

Gordon's intervention made Mica realise that she had been so busy coping at the time, she had never allowed her grief for Shirley to flow out. Gordon opened the floodgates.

Mica said: "I cried most of that day. I couldn't stop crying. And then I went home and cried again and again.

"Then the day after that, there was absolute peace inside. I think I'd actually grieved for her for the first time. It was like a release knowing that she is still about."

Gordon then communicated a message from Mica's brother, passing on the news that Jason didn't want to see his mother die with him, that he had been worried that she had been lingering too much "in a memorial place."

She said: "There was no way Gordon could have known this - no one knew - but the whole family was worried that my mum was not going to make it.

"She was practically living in the cemetery, and this went on for months.

"I had to go and drag her out and scream at her, to remind her that she had five children left who really needed her. And that if she didn't get her a*** out of that cemetery, we were going to lose her.

"I didn't want to believe it, but Gordon kept hitting the nail on the head."

Now Mica looks back on her encounter with Gordon, filmed last year, as a fortunate encounter with someone who has a great gift.

Her own life is certainly in a fortunate phase now.

She is happily single and "loving it", being mum to Monet, 17 and Russia, two, with constant demands from her TV career, a new album out (her seventh) in January and a residency at Ronnie Scott's Club, appearing three nights a month for the next year.

You don't need to be a medium to see a bright future for Mica.

SERIES WAS A LONG-TERM GOAL

PSYCHIC Barber Gordon Smith would have to see the future to predict his Psychic Therapy show on The Biography Channel.

The concept took shape in a pilot for ITV in 2001.

"ITV did not pick up on it," says Daily Record columnist Gordon. "But producer/director Maureen Goldthorpe chipped away and took it to The Biography Channel, and they loved it."

The six episodes concentrate on a celebrity who has faced grief, trouble or loss. He offers a personal psychic reading followed by a look at their career.

Gordon said: "Anyone can look up information on celebrities, but personal details made it special."

GORDON'S LOWDOWN ON HIS NEW SHOW'S CELEBRITY GUESTS

Sam Fox: Sam had issues with her father. He had been her manager, but he was an alcoholic and a drug-user. When he died, they hadn't spoken for a long time, so there were lots of things she wanted to say to him.

Mica Paris: Mica was shocked when her aunt Shirley came through first, rather than her murdered brother, Jason. She didn't expect that - neither did I.

Phil Tufnell: Phil's mother died when he was 13. And when she came through, he realised he'd never thought about how her death affected him.

Claire Sweeney: Claire's grandfather came through with a lovely message, as did a close friend who was her musical director on cruise ships. She said their friendship was something she'd never talked about, but his death really broke her up. I also told her she'd be working in Los Angeles by the end of the year - which came true.

Darren Day: One of the most moving programmes. Darren's father was an alcoholic. Darren came to see me in a terrible state and we asked him to come on the programme to do the reading. A lot of Darren's problems were selfinduced. He said it took his father's death to make him face up to his responsibilities.

Pete Burns: We had to do two readings - Pete is bi-polar and was very hyper for the first and couldn't listen, he just talked over me. The change in him on the second reading was amazing.

He was so much calmer. The message for him was he had to let his late mother move on.

Psychic Therapy starts on The Biography Channel on October 7, 9.00pm.

By Graham Keal

Source: DailyRecord.co.uk