Firman's first big break came in 2002 when he responded to an advert from
Objective Productions, who were searching for new magicians for a new television show,
Monkey Magic. Together with writer Paul Outhwaite and musician Andy Elvin, the three friends formed a short lived comedy team, "
Threefellas" and made a short film of Firman doing tricks in the local area. He sent in a tape of himself in his underpants performing magic in Outhwaite's back garden and was chosen almost instantly. "
Threefellas" made a few more short films before disbanding. In April 2003 the cast of
Monkey Magic had their first meeting and Firman met fellow magician
Ali Cook with whom he later shared a flat for two and a half years. During this time they wrote routines for
The Greatest Magic Tricks in the Universe... Ever, the second series of
Monkey Magic and
The Secret World of Magic. The first seven-part series of
Monkey Magic was broadcast on Five in 2003 as well as a Christmas special. The show featured a team of four magicians each with their own unique style and personality. It was short listed for a
British Comedy Award and nominated for a
Rose d'Or. A second series of
Monkey Magic aired in 2004, which saw his first Mr Ball routine. Firman co-hosted
The Greatest Magic Tricks in the Universe... Ever series on Five which saw a countdown of the "most amazing tricks of all time" from
Horace Goldin's
sawing a woman in half illusion to
David Copperfield's
Vanishing the Statue of Liberty illusion. In
The Secret World of Magic, which aired on Sky1 in 2005, Firman travelled the world with Ali Cook, interviewing the world's greatest magicians, including
Mac King,
Juan Tamariz and
Max Maven, whilst also performing their own brand of
sleight of hand on the streets of Paris,
Madrid, New York City, Los Angeles,
Las Vegas and
Buenos Aires. He also did a Mr Ball routine in
The Secret World of Magic which was developed by him and Ali Cook.
Dirty Tricks was a six-part series in 2005 on Channel 4, hosted by Firman along with
Barry and Stuart. It was described as "like magic meets
Natural Born Killers" by critic Sam Wollaston of
The Guardian. The show had regular spots from Ali Cook and
Jonathan Goodwin as well as guest appearances from international variety acts and celebrities including
Penn & Teller,
Stephen Fry,
Mylene Klass and
Kevin James. The show was nominated for a Rose d'Or. Firman was a special guest on ''
Don't Miss a Trick, a one-off family show version of The Real Hustle'', which first aired on 25 August 2008 on
BBC One. Pete Firman has hosted two game shows,
Stake Out in 2008 and
Wait For It..!, in 2009. Both aired on
BBC1. In 2009 he appeared in "
Derren Brown Presents: 3D Magic Spectacular".
The Magicians was a primetime Saturday night series for BBC1 that aired in 2012. It was the first magic show in 30 years to be broadcast live. Firman was one of the featured magicians, along with
Barry and Stuart and Jason Latimer. In 2016 he appeared as a contestant in the first series of
ITV's
The Next Great Magician. ==Theatre==