The Wheel viewers were left feeling emotional on Saturday night
The Wheel fans were “in tears” as a contestant won the jackpot after their daughter’s death.
Michael McIntyre‘s The Wheel sees members of the public answer trivia questions with the support of celebrity experts.
The famous faces on tonight’s show included Josh Widdecombe, Chris Harris, Colin Jackson, Harriet Kemsley, Shirley Ballas, Frankie Bridge, Jordan North and William Hanson.
40-year-old father-of-two Gordon, who is from Glasgow, was one of the contestants taking part and shared his heartfelt story.
The NHS porter manager revealed to Michael that his 10-year-old daughter, Bella, lives with cystic fibrosis and has always dreamed of visiting Japan.
His other daughter, Ruby, sadly passed away over two and a half years ago from a brain tumour.
If he went on to win, Gordon shared that he was planning to donate some of the money to the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of his daughter, with the rest of the funds going towards Bella’s dream holiday.
Later in the show, Gordon reached the final question, and went on to play for £31,000 with the help of comedian Harriet Kemsley.
They were asked which pop legend secured the first solo UK number one single, with the possible answers being Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
The pair jointly decided to go with Beyoncé, with the room soon being lit up in gold as Gordon successfully won the jackpot.
Gordon became emotional as he spoke about his late daughter, saying: “When she was diagnosed, she was given six to nine months to live but with her attitude – she was just a ray of sunshine – she had a really good three years.
“She started school, she was a bridesmaid at my brother’s wedding, so as a family mantra we came up with the motto, ‘Be a bit more Ruby.'”
The show’s viewers quickly took to X to share their delight after Gordon’s win, with one person writing: “Love it when the person you’re rooting for on The Wheel actually wins! Go on Gordon!”
Another added: “Most deserving winner on The Wheel losing a child to a brain tumour and another seriously ill with cystic fibrosis. This world is so cruel. Well done Gordon!”
A third said: “Oh I am actually crying. What a well deserved winner,” with another similarly sharing: “Aww Gordon! That was so emotional!!”
Fans of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel watched on as a lollipop lady took home one of the biggest jackpots in the show’s history after a dramatic final question
Sally took home a huge jackpot on The Wheel(Image: BBC)
Michael McIntyre made dreams come true after an elated contestant on The Wheel bagged one of the biggest ever jackpots on the show. Lollipop lady Sally from Gateshead went all in in the final showdown, surprisingly choosing the game’s lowest-ranked celebrity to help her with the final question.
It saw her have the chance to scoop a £110,000 jackpot, doubling what she had banked in the cash builder throughout the show. After picking former rugby star Joe Marler as her famous face to help her, he joked: “I’m not doing it. I feel sick,” as he looked stunned she had gone for broke.
But together the pair somehow managed to unearth the right answer, correctly revealing that Jade Jones had medalled in the Olympics in Taekwondo. Sally, who had earlier this year recovered from lung cancer, had doubted herself after locking in the answer.
Both she and Joe looked far from convinced they were onto a winner. But thankfully for the north-east based contestant, the ticker turned gold, giving her the huge six-figure sum.
The gobsmacked contestant couldn’t believe it as she gasped: “Oh my God,” before removing her glasses to wipe away the tears. She was in so much shock that she kept asking the celebs around the wheel, including Jill Scott and Roman Kemp, if this was really happening.
Revealing to comedian Michael how she would be spending the prize, she sobbed how she would treat her husband and friends who had helped her through her tough cancer treatment: “We can get the van and we can go off on our adventures,” she revealed.
“I can treat my friends to thank them,” she said before breaking down in tears again to a round of applause from the celebs and the audience. “What a year,” she continued.
“What a year, of course,” Michael replied. “You got the all clear this year.” “Oh my God,” she again exclaimed before revealing: “I’m not going to hang my lollipop up, mind! I love it… Oh my God. Did that just happen?”
“And well done Joe as well,” Michael added in between applause. He had helped whittle down the question to two answers, with Sally picking the correct one for a dramatic end to the popular gameshow.
Sally’s tears weren’t the only shed on the show on Saturday. Michael McIntyre said, “I wasn’t expecting this,” as the first contestant also down in tears.
Hannah, a data analyst from Macclesfield, revealed a special connection she had with rugby star Joe. “I struggled with mental health for quite a while,” she said.
“I never really had a hobby,” she went on before pausing as she began to tear up. “I was always kind of a lost kind of person growing up; I didn’t know if I was coming or going. This said person brought out a podcast about mental health and rugby”.
As she welled up again, she then told Michael: “I now play rugby; it is a massive passion of mine and if it wasn’t for Joe, then I wouldn’t be doing it.”
One lucky EuroMillions player in the UK has won a life-changing £25mCredit: Getty
It marks the second Friday in a row that a UK ticket-holder has won the top prize, and the fourth time this year.
Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “Wow, it’s been an exciting night for EuroMillions players, as a single UK ticket-holder has landed the amazing £25m jackpot.
“That’s two UK EuroMillions jackpot wins in the space of a week, after another lucky player scooped the incredible £26M jackpot in last Friday’s draw (3 October).
“Players are now urged to check their tickets and to give us a call if they think they are tonight’s lucky winner.”
EveryEuroMillionsticket also bags you an automatic entry into the UK Millionaire Maker, which guarantees at least one player will pocket £1million in every draw.
The UK Millionaire Maker Selection winner is: TGXG94724.
The first EuroMillions draw took place on February 7, 2004, by three organisations: France’s Française des Jeux, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado in Spain and the Camelot in the UK.
One of the UK’s biggest prizes was up for grabs on December, 4, 2020 with a whopping £175million EuroMillions jackpot, which would make a winner richer than Adele.
Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Scotland, netted a huge £161,653,000 in the July 12, 2011.
Heartwarming moment dad who battled cancer tells son he’s won massive jackpot on the EuroMillions
Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Haverhill, Suffolk, picked up £148,656,000 after they played the draw on August, 10, 2012, while Jane Park became Britain’s youngest lottery winner when she scooped up £1 million in 2013.
The Jester from Leicester secured a 10-5 victory over the Scotsman as he went one better than the 2023 British Open, where he lost in the final to Mark Williams.
In 2024, World No1 Judd Trump became only the third player in history to reach 1,000 century breaks.
But in the very same match, he was eliminated by Mark Allen following a 5-3 defeat in the quarter-finals.
Trump has never won the British Open and will be looking to add the Clive Everton Trophy to his ever-expanding collection of titles.
Kyren Wilson also features in Cheltenham as he looks to put his poor display at the English Open last week behind him.
There will be no Ronnie O’Sullivan this week after the Rocket withdrew from the competition on medical grounds last Tuesday.
When is the British Open 2025?
The British Open 2025 will begin on Monday, September 22.
The tournament will run up until Sunday, September 28.
The Centaur in Cheltenham will host.
What TV channel is the British Open 2025 on and can it be live streamed?
The British Open 2025 will be broadcast live on ITV4.
You can live stream all the action for FREE via the ITVX app/website.
Alternatively, you can keep up to date with all the action by following SunSport’s live blog.
So Allen plays safe to get the cue ball to baulk and actually hits the jaws of the yellow pocket and just stays aboard!
Zhou Yuelong 8-8 Mark Allen (0-0)
On the stretch, Zhou gets a simple pot all wrong and misses into the right corner pocket.
The cue ball remains around the reds too but not sure if he’s gotten away with it and not left anything on.
Zhou Yuelong 8-8 Mark Allen (0-0)
Safety exchange to start the frame as you might probably expect.
Every shot carefully thought out as an error could spell the end.
Zhou Yuelong 8-8 Mark Allen
An enormous cheers greets both men as they return to the floor.
Zhou Yuelong to break in the decider.
Zhou Yuelong 8-8 Mark Allen
We’re heading to a decider!
Allen sinks the remaining balls after Zhou potted the cue ball and we’re going to have a 17th and final frame to decide our English Open winner.
And that decider will start after midnight, when they kicked things off at 1pm this afternoon. It’s been said so many times this week but that’s a completely absurd situation to expect sports stars to operate at their best in. Genuinely ridiculous.
But never mind. A one-frame shoot-out for £100,000!
Zhou Yuelong 8-7 Mark Allen (59-75)
Allen flukes a snooker when he hits the green this time.
Zhou makes contact with the green too but it sends the cue ball into the pocket after doing so!
Sept. 7 (UPI) — Two lucky ticket holders in Missouri and Texas won the massive $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot after Saturday’s drawing, lottery officials announced Sunday.
The winning numbers from Saturday’s drawing were white balls 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and red Powerball 17 with a Power Play multiplier of 2, the Multi-State Lottery Association said in a statement.
It was the second-largest prize since the game began in 1992 and will be split by the two ticket holders. The largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever was the world-record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 7, 2022.
“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winners and the Missouri Lottery and Texas Lottery for selling the winning tickets,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and chief executive of the Iowa Lottery.
Nearly 10 million other players won smaller prizes after Saturday’s drawing, including 18 winners of the $1 million prize for matching all five white balls with two of those increasing their winnings to $2 million by selecting the Power Play add-on.
The Saturday Powerball pull was the 42nd drawing since the most recent jackpot was won in California in May, ending the longest run in the game’s history without a jackpot winner. Now, the Powerball jackpot resets down to a $20 million prize.
The overall odds of winning a prize remain 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot remain 1 in 292.2 million.
Funds raised from lotteries like Powerball often go toward state education departments for funding programs like the arts or to vocational programs and responsible gambling initiatives.
But Powerball is not without its critics who have raised concerns about gambling addiction or criticized lotteries, including Powerball, for disproportionately burden lower-income and minority communities while essentially functioning as a regressive form of taxation.
Sept. 4 (UPI) — The Powerball jackpot has risen to $1.7 billion after no one matched all five numbers and the red ball on Wednesday.
Saturday’s Powerball is the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, falling behind the Nov. 7, 2022, jackpot of $2.04 billion and $1.765 billion on Oct. 11, 2023.
Wednesday winning numbers were white balls 3, 16, 29, 61, 69 and a red Powerball 22 with a Power Play multiplier of 2.
Although there were no jackpot winners, eleven tickets matched the $1 million prize and were sold in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Four tickets won the $2 million prize in Michigan, Oregon. Texas, and Wyoming.
Also, 117 tickets won $50,000 prizes and 36 won $100,000 prizes. In total, more than 6.3 million tickets won crash prizes in Wednesday night’s drawing.
Aug. 26 (UPI) — Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $815 million, the lotto said Tuesday, making it the seventh-largest pot in the game’s history.
The prize has an estimated cash value of nearly $368 million, Powerball said in a statement.
The jackpot soared after no one won Monday’s draw for the pot that then sat at $750 million.
Though there was no grand winner Monday night, two tickets sold in Georgia and Texas were worth $1 million each as they both matched all five white balls, while 26 tickets won $50,000 prizes.
According to the lotto, Wednesday’s drawing will by the 38th since a ticket in California won the grand prize on May 31.
Wednesday’s Powerball Jackpot is only surpassed in worth by six others, five of which were in the billion-dollar range. The most valuable was the Nov. 7, 2022, draw for $2.04 billion.
Anyone 18-years or over can buy a scratchcard and play.
Here’s what you need to know before playing.
Make sure you gamble responsibly.
Track down the odds
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Here’s where you will find the odds listed for each scratchcard on the National Lottery websiteCredit: National Lottery
Scratchcard odds can be found on the back of the slip, on the game procedures document or the National Lottery website.
They can also be found on in-store screens at the till in shops.
From reviving ‘dead’ pets to Ibiza benders and living in a caravan – how Lotto winners who scooped £194m splashed cash
Typically, the more expensive the scratchcard, the better the odds – but this isn’t always the case.
The odds of winning on the Sapphire 7s Doubler scratchcard, which costs £2, is one in 3.37, whereas the odds of winning the Diamond Maze scratchcard, which is £5, is one in 3.58.
Odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize – the lower the number, the better the odds.
This means you have a better chance of winning with the £2 game compared to the more expensive £5 game.
Of course, there’s no guarantee you will win on your scratchcard, even if you buy many to increase your odds of winning.
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Matt Harding and partner John Drabble won £500K on a lucky scratchcardCredit: National Lottery
Patrick said: “If you buy a scratchcard with odds of one in four, and you buy four scratchcards, you’d assume you get a winner.
“Yet the odds are calculated on all scratchcards in circulation, which means that you aren’t guaranteed a winner in this scenario.
“It can work in your favour though, as you could equally win on all four scratchcards.”
A better method of calculating the likelihood of winning can be to take a look at what “return to player” rate is.
This is what gambling experts define as the percentage of money that will be paid back to players from total scratchcard sales. It’s essentially the pay out rate on scratchcards.
National Lottery scratchcards usually pay out at a rate of between 60-70%.
So say, for example, that the total of all the scratchcards sold was £1 million.
A 65% pay out rate would mean that £650,000 would be paid out to players, with the remaining £350,000 going to National Lottery.
The £100,000 A Month For A Year scratchcard has pay out rate of 70.02%.
The £100,000 Multiplier Yellow scratchcard has an pay out rate of 61.75%.
You can find information on prize rates on the game procedure documents, which are on the National Lottery website for each scratchcard.
Top 10 prize rate scratchcards
HERE are the National Lottery scratchcards with the top pay out rates that are currently on sale.
£2 Million Red – 71%
Black Pearl Deluxe – 70.98%
Cash Vault – 70.91%
Black Pearl – 70.85%
Run For Your Money – 70.12%
Mega Cashword (Purple) – 70.04%
£500 Loaded – 70.03%
Mega Cashword (Yellow) – 70.03%
Millionaire Maker – 70.03%
Silver & Gold – 70.03%
The scratchcards you can NEVER win the jackpot
Before you buy your scratchcard, check whether the top jackpot prizes have already been won.
The number of jackpot prizes available varies depending on what type of scratchcard you pick.
Many people don’t realise you can still buy National Lottery scratchcards even after all the top prizes have been won.
For cards with a jackpot above £121,000, no new packs of scratchcards will be put on sale when the last top prize has been won.
However, scratchcards that are already on display can continue to be sold.
Information about remaining prizes is available on in-store National Lottery scratchcard terminals, but these can be easy to miss so make sure you visit the National Lottery website too.
There won’t be a breakdown of other winnings still up for grabs.
Jackpot information is only every weekday, so there could be a delay if prizes are claimed on the weekend or on bank holidays.
The National Lottery site currently shows that five out of around 50 scratchcard games on sale have already had the top prizes claimed.
Use this nifty site
If you’re not sure which scratchcard to choose with the best chance of winning, this handy website could help.
Smartscratchcard.co.uk ranks which scratchcards are best to buy based on the chances of scoring the top prize.
It uses an algorithm to give a rating out of 100 on popular scratchcards.
It takes into account factors such as the price of the card, whether the top prize is still available to be won, how many cards are still available to buy, and the odds of winning.
It also lists how much you might have to spend to win the jackpot statistically.
The scratchcard rated the top buy on the site is currently Run For Your Money.
It costs £5 and the jackpot is £1 million.
The return to player rate is 70.12%, and two out of three jackpots have been won.
Shockingly, statistically speaking, you could have to spend £4,990,920 on cards to win.
Don’t throw away a loser
You may not believe it, but it’s easier to lose track of a winning scratchcard then you might think.
More than £57.6m worth of prizes went unclaimed by Lotto, EuroMillions and scratchcard players in the ten months to the end of January 2024.
The National Lottery recommends you always sign a scratchcard and keep it safe if you have a winner.
It sounds obvious, but make sure your card is definitely not a winner before chucking.
This is more likely to happen with scratchcards featuring letters and numbers, such as the Bingo and Crossword styles.
Patrick adds: “The National Lottery often changes the rules between new releases – even if they look similar to the ones before them.”
Even if you think you have a loser, it’s a good idea to take it to a shop where they can check.
Then you can be completely sure you don’t throw away any winners.
Don’t leave it too late
It’s really important to know that all scratchcards have an expiry date.
Even if you have a winner, you won’t be able to claim your prize if the card is out of date.
Prizes must be claimed before the end of the 180th day after the closing date of the game.
This gives you roughly six months after the game has closed.
