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

Published: 09:15 BST, 5 October 2026 | Updated: 09:16 BST, 5 October 2026

Debbie McGee has revealed how she was forced to flee Iran 'with machine guns trained on her' while she ran to board a plane after hiding for three weeks during the revolution. 

The former magician's assistant and Strictly Come Dancing contestant was just 18 when she left the UK to join the Iranian National Ballet only to be caught up in the terrifying events of 1979. 

Ms McGee, now 67, has described how she had to make a daring escape from Tehran. 

At the time, the star said, the Iranian capital was a 'vibrant, fast-moving place' and 'it was almost like living in New York'. 

But that was until revolution broke out, bringing chaos and violence to Tehran. 

Ms McGee revealed how she watched soldiers open fire on university students and seeing 'rioters around every corner'. 

She rushed to the British embassy for help but was sent away. That same day the embassy was attacked. 

For three weeks Ms McGee hid with fellow ballet dancers while 'pretty much living on flatbreads'. 

Magician Paul Daniels with his assistant Debbie McGee in 1983. She was forced to flee Iran during the revolution in 1979

The star has revealed how she made a daring escape to Zurich 'with machine guns trained on her' after hiding in Tehran for three weeks 

Her parents didn't know whether she was safe. 

But eventually a friend at the Foreign Residence Bureau secured three plane tickets to Zurich, Switzerland. 

When Ms McGee arrived at the airport with her friends Julie and Gavin, she 'feared the very worst' when a guard stopped and quizzed her over her visa, which she believed had been tampered with. 

She burst into tears, begging to leave the country when the guard took pity on her and told the star to 'run' for the plane. 

In her autobiography, serialised by The Mirror, she said: 'I would get flashbacks to that run across the tarmac towards the plane, with the guards' machine guns trained upon us as we ran.' 

She added: 'It felt like I held my breath until the plane left the runway. Even after we were in the air, it took a long time for my heart to stop pounding. Though I had never been so scared in my life, I was just too stunned to cry...

'What Iran taught me was that I could survive. But I wasn't meant to stay there. If I hadn't been forced to come home, the rest of my life would have been very different indeed.'

When Ms McGee reached Zurich she finally phoned home, speaking with her parents for the first time in a month. 

For weeks, Ms McGee was unable to phone home. Her father later revealed that he and his wife didn't know whether she was dead or alive 

Debbie McGee attends the National Television Awards in London on October 13, 2022

The star said she 'felt able to cry at last' after hearing the familiar voice of her father. 

When she eventually arrived to safety in London, Ms McGee's parents were waiting for her. 

'I've never been hugged so hard,' she said, despite fearing only days before that she would be killed and would never see her family again while 'living in a nightmare'. 

But only decades later did her father reveal the 'pain' he and his wife were going through at the time. 

He told his daughter that 'we didn't know whether you were dead or alive'.