Paul Daniels 'joking and laughing' until 48 hours before death

Debbie McGee has said her husband Paul Daniels was "happy, joking and laughing" until two days before he died.

The entertainer died of cancer in mid-March with his wife by his side, and was laid to rest after a private service last week.

Daniels, 77, had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in February.

"He was very happy and was still joking and laughing with us up until 48 hours before he died," she told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

The couple had been married for nearly thirty years and she was his assistant during his magic shows.

McGee, 57, told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that Daniels did not know he was dying, which had "made it easier".

She explained: "The tumour was pressing on the part of the brain that processed information so he could still interact and make jokes for us but when you explained things to him, you weren't quite sure how much he took in."

The magician fell at home and was rushed to hospital, suspected of having suffered a stroke, but following tests a tumour was discovered.

The secret to their happy union was based on humour, she said: "We played jokes on each other all the time, we laughed from the moment we got up in the morning."

Their marriage saw them spend their last days at home eating magnum ice-creams, watching ITV's The Chase and spending time in the garden.

"I was so comforted by the fact we always told each other how much we loved each other," she said.

"We'd enjoyed every single day of our lives, even through the bad times we were a team and most people don't have that."