ALLY MCBEAL - DAME EDNA'S SETTLED NERVES

Former ALLY McBEAL star BARRY HUMPHRIES was confident his Broadway show as alter-ego DAME EDNA EVERAGE would be a success before the show even opened, after a visit to a psychic.

The Antipodean funnyman visited a friendly witch in New South Wales, Australia, to help settle his nerves about the opening of his New York production DAME EDNA: BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.

Humphries explains, "I found an authentic Irish witch who has converted the ramshackle tool-shed in her garden into a spooky consulting room.

"I learnt, several months in advance, the success of my show, thus sparing myself the torments of self-doubt and first-night jitters other artistes have as they wait to read the reviews."