Debbie McGee describes fleeing Iran during 1978–79 revolution in new autobiography
Debbie McGee, 67, recounts in her autobiography A Magical Life how she escaped Tehran as a teenage ballet dancer during the Iranian revolution. The Daily Mirror serialised the account and the Daily Mail followed with its own version.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Debbie McGee, now 67, describes in her new autobiography, A Magical Life, how she escaped Iran during the revolution of 1978–79, running across an airport tarmac with guards' machine guns trained on her. Daily MirrorL “Now 67, Debbie describes her dramatic scenes in her new autobiography, A Magical Life” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Ms McGee, now 67, has described how she had to make a daring escape from Tehran.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Left · 1She was 18 when she left the Royal Ballet School to join the Iranian National Ballet, which the Mirror says paid five times what her Royal Ballet contemporaries earned and had about 65 dancers, based at Tehran's Roudaki Hall. Daily MirrorL “She had been just 18 when she left the Royal Ballet School to join the Iranian National Ballet”“The company paid five times what her contemporaries at the Royal Ballet earned” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Mixed · 2She recalls Tehran as a 'vibrant, fast-moving place', 'almost like living in New York', until protests against the Shah grew and she saw troops open fire on students at Tehran University. Daily MirrorL ““Living in Tehran at that time was almost like living in New York,” she says.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Ms McGee revealed how she watched soldiers open fire on university students” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2She and fellow dancer Julie Robinson went to the British Embassy for help; she says staff were dismissive and sent them away, and that the embassy was attacked that afternoon. Daily MirrorL “That very afternoon, the embassy was attacked.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “She rushed to the British embassy for help but was sent away. That same day the embassy was attacked.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Left · 1The dancers then spent about three weeks in an apartment block with other Europeans, living 'pretty much' on flatbreads that the men fetched, with no television, radio or international calls, so she could not tell her parents she was safe. Daily MirrorL ““We were pretty much living on flatbreads,” she says. “We lived like that for three weeks.”“Debbie could not even tell her parents she was safe.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Left · 1A friend at the Foreign Residence Bureau obtained three tickets to Zurich for her, Julie and a friend named Gavin, at more than ten times the usual fare, according to the Mirror. Daily MirrorL “a friend working at the Foreign Residence Bureau secured three tickets to Zurich for Debbie, Julie and her other friend Gavin” Read at Daily Mirror ↗
Mixed · 2At the airport a guard stopped her over her visa, which he thought she had tampered with, and held her in a small office; a young guard took pity, stamped the passports and told her to 'Run'. Daily MirrorL “a guard stopped Debbie over her visa, which they thought she’d tampered with” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “the guard took pity on her and told the star to 'run' for the plane” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2From Zurich she phoned her parents, reversing the charges, for the first time in a month, and they met her at London airport. Decades later her father told her, 'We didn't know whether you were dead or alive.' Daily MirrorL “It was the first time in a month she had been able to call her parents.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “He told his daughter that 'we didn't know whether you were dead or alive'.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2Back in Britain she was broke and auditioned for a Great Yarmouth summer show starring Paul Daniels, later her husband. She says Iran taught her she 'could survive' but that she 'wasn't meant to stay there'. Daily MirrorL “she auditioned for a summer show in Great Yarmouth starring a magician she had never heard of: Paul Daniels.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “What Iran taught me was that I could survive. But I wasn't meant to stay there.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2A Magical Life is published by Mirror Books on 8 October; the Daily Mail's report says the account was serialised by the Mirror. Daily MirrorL “A Magical Life by Debbie McGee is out on October 8 (Mirror Books)” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “In her autobiography, serialised by The Mirror, she said” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Mirror exclusive and book serialisation told as a first-person adventure, quoting at length from A Magical Life and carrying the publisher and purchase link.
- Emphasis
- Detailed scene-setting: the ballet company, the dash to the airport at dawn, the guard's kindness and the family reunion.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the Daily Mail's framing of her as a former magician's assistant and Strictly contestant.
- Charged language
- “EXCLUSIVE”“daring escape”“incredible escape”
- For example
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“EXCLUSIVE: Debbie McGee has spoken in detail for the first time of her incredible escape from Iran during the Revolution” — Daily Mirror
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Shorter Mail rewrite of the Mirror's serialisation, led by a long headline on the machine guns and her fame as a magician's assistant and Strictly contestant.
- Emphasis
- The danger and the 'hiding for weeks' angle, with photo captions of her with Paul Daniels.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Leaves out the ballet company's pay and detail, the ticket cost, the cramped airport office, her later audition with Paul Daniels, and the book's publication date and publisher.
- Charged language
- “terrifying events”“daring escape”“forced to flee”
- For example
-
“The former magician's assistant and Strictly Come Dancing contestant was just 18 when she left the UK” — Daily Mail
“In her autobiography, serialised by The Mirror, she said” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- McGee, 67, joined the Iranian National Ballet at 18 and was in Tehran during the revolution.
- She says she was sent away from the British Embassy, which was attacked the same day.
- She hid with other dancers for about three weeks before flying to Zurich.
- A guard questioned her visa, then told her to run for the plane, with machine guns trained on them as she ran, by her account.
- She was unable to contact her parents for a month.
Debbie McGee person
Presents the escape as the most frightening experience of her life, one that left flashbacks but taught her she could survive.
“Though I had never been so scared in my life, I was just too stunned to cry.” — Daily Mirror
“I would get flashbacks to that run across the tarmac towards the plane” — Daily Mirror
Left1 article
-
Debbie McGee tells of daring escape from Iran as machine guns trained on her
Sympathetic Exclusive extract told as a dramatic personal story, with long first-person quotes and a book promotion.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
-
Sympathetic Condensed follow-up on the Mirror's serialisation, stressing peril and her celebrity background.
- 4 Oct 19:17 First Daily MirrorL Debbie McGee tells of daring escape from Iran as machine guns trained on her
- 5 Oct 09:55 +14h 38m Daily MailR Debbie McGee reveals she was forced to flee Iran 'as men trained machine guns on her while she ran to board plane' after hiding for weeks during 1970s revolution
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.