'It's the best job in the world': Wolverhampton's Will E Droppit talks magic, laughs and living a dream life

It’s been a road well-travelled by a veteran entertainer who counts Butlins, Alton Towers and the Brit Awards among the events he’s performed at.

Ronnie Bilboe has been getting five star reviews for nearly 30 years as a professional magician and has performed alongside names such as Kim Wilde, Su Pollard and Frank Bruno as Will E Droppit.

The 60-year-old, who lives in Tettenhall, started busking on the streets of Birmingham juggling with knives and fire in the mid-nineties, before taking the plunge and becoming a professional in March 1998.

He said performing was something that ran in the family, with a recent search uncovering performers from the early 1900s.

He said: “I’ve been doing this for nearly 30 years and it’s something which has given me a lot of opportunities and also something that I think is in my blood because of tracing the history back after hearing stories about my family.

“I grew up hearing stories of our family and how they’d come from Kent and travelled up here at the start of the 20th century and settled in Ironbridge and travelled with the fairs as they were fairground performers.

“This includes a man called Frederick Bilboe and he was a magician in Queen Victoria’s reign and performed in London and performed for royalty, so I’ve found it’s in my blood and has become a huge part of my life.”

Mr Bilboe said it wasn’t long after he started busking in Birmingham that he was signed up to an agent and, from there, he began working professionally and, to date, has done thousands of magic shows in settings such as parties, schools and corporate events.

He said it has been a happy accident as he had been made redundant from a job as a factory labourer and needed to find a way to keep earning.

He said: "When I first started, I never thought that I'd be doing it 28 years later as I was a factory labourer and was made unemployed, but I had to feed the family and so I stumbled into being a magician.

"I love all of the aspects of kids entertainment and it was a hobby that become a career and I hope to do this until I retire.

"I meet people now who I performed for 15 or 20 years ago when they were children themselves and now they have me at their parties and it gives me such a buzz that people come back and book me year after year."

Mr Bilboe said he had also had the pleasure of seeing performing run in the family, having taught his wife Tracy face painting, balloon modelling, plate spinning magic and juggling and seeing her start her own company doing face painting and balloon modelling.

He also said he loved seeing his grandson Arthur perform as well and had been inspired to start doing some fundraising for his grandson due to his ill heath, as well as to help two places close to his heart.

He said: “Arthur is two-and-a-half and comes out to do a bit of juggling, which is his first step on the ladder.

“He’s also been unwell and recently had his tonsils removed at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, so over the 18 months, we've been trying to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital and also Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

“In conjunction with a chap named Manny Singh over in Birmingham, we've been putting on fun days and Punch and Judy shows, magic shows and stuff and we've raised £500, which we’ll split between the two.”

Mr Bilboe said that, at his heart, Will E Droppit is an entertainer and a magician who enjoys putting smiles on faces and said he was thankful for the journey he had gone on.

He said: “I’m just someone who love to go out and put a big smile on people’s face and it’s lovely to run into people who tell me that I did their party years ago and they still laugh about it now.

“I get rebooked year after year after year and I’m in a position where I could retire in six years, but I don’t really want to stop and so as long as I’m able to keep doing it, then I will carry on.

“It’s an absolutely fantastic job, going out, going to parties and putting smiles on people’s faces and it really is the best job in the world.”