He has attributed the start of this interest to experiences including seeing an entertainer at a children's party and watching television programmes such as the David Nixon show.
Other influences cited by Dobson include Roy Johnson, Ken Brooke and Dai Vernon, who was revered among magicians for his close-up magic.
In 1988 he was hired as a support act for Engelbert Humperdinck on a tour of America, where he won positive attention and got experience of major entertainment centres such as Las Vegas.
Back in the UK he was asked to perform in the 1989 Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium, where he scored a great success with an act in which he was assisted by boxer Frank Bruno and sports commentator Harry Carpenter.
The series was aired nationally in the early 1990s on the ITV network with this Saturday night magic show featuring Linda Lusardi as his assistant and reaching audiences of 11 million.
In total, three series were commissioned by ITV,[1] with a special called Wayne Dobson Close-up being produced by Celador for post-1992 London franchise owner Carlton in 1995.