A Filmed Experiment on Telephone Telepathy with the Nolan Sisters

A compact but methodologically rigorous replication of Sheldrake and Smart's telephone telepathy paradigm, unique in using celebrity subjects filmed for broadcast television, providing an unusually high level of independent documentation. The 50% hit rate against 25% chance replicates the ~42% average found across more than 850 prior trials and adds ecological validity through the strong pre-existing emotional bonds among sisters. The blind videotape evaluation by Pam Smart represents a key anti-fraud control.

This paper reports a filmed replication of telephone telepathy experiments, conducted with the Nolan Sisters—five sisters who were members of a popular 1980s British pop group—for a UK Channel Five television documentary. The experiment followed a previously validated four-caller randomized protocol: participant Colleen Nolan was taken to a private room at the Strand Palace Hotel approximately 1 km from her four sisters (Anne, Maureen, Linda, and Denise) in a Soho bar. An experimenter selected each caller at random using a casino-quality die, and the selected sister telephoned Colleen at a prearranged time. When the phone rang, Colleen had to name the caller before answering. Calls were made on landlines without caller ID. Both locations were filmed continuously on time-coded videotape, and the videotape of Colleen was evaluated blind by an independent observer, Pam Smart, who was absent during the trials. Twelve trials were conducted. Colleen correctly identified the caller in 6 of 12 trials (50%), compared to the 25% chance expectation, a result significant at p = 0.05 (both binomial and chi-squared tests). In sensitivity analyses excluding two trials in which Colleen answered before guessing, her score remained 5 out of 10 (50%). Notably, her only sceptical sister (Anne) yielded the lowest hit rate (0 of 1), while her self-described favourite sister (Linda) yielded the highest (2 of 2, 100%). The authors discuss and dismiss alternative explanations involving sensory leakage, cheating via concealed mobile phones, and unconscious use of timing cues.