Ann, 75, scoops the jackpot on Noel’s telly show
A 75-YEAR-OLD bell ringer with nerves of steel has won the £250,000 Deal or No Deal jackpot – after a gamble which could have seen her leave with just 50p.
Widow Ann Crawford’s triumph in the TV nailbiter left host Noel Edmonds delighted. He said: “This has been one of the most amazing hours of my whole life.”
Ann became the eighth person to bag the Channel 4 gameshow’s mega-prize.
She beat the Banker by refusing his final offer of £64,000 – with only the 50p and £ 250,000 boxes left in play.
Ann, nicknamed Queen Ann by the other contestants, also refused the chance to swap her box, later finding she had the top prize in her possession throughout the game. The wily Banker had tried to outsmart her by giving her the c chance to buy Box 23, which c could see her double, quarter, a add an extra £10,000 or lose a all her winnings.
Ann mixed up her words and replied: “Deal no”, instead of “No deal.”
The Banker then asked d the question again and she declined the offer offer, which would have pickedpic the “Nothing” box a and seen her lose the £2 £250,000.
After her astonishing win, screened yesterdayyes afternoon but recorded earlier, host Noel added: “It’s an extraordinary game at the b best and worst of times but then someone comes along and playspl so much their
own wayw that it literally takes your breath away. Congratulations Ann!”
Ann, from m Manchester,, widowed in 2003, said she would take her family on a holiday, and has also treated herself to a new car.
First broadcast on Channel 4 in 2005, Deal or No Deal is hugely popular. Twelve celebrities have p played for charity and L Louis Walsh did best, w winning £70,000 for his g good cause.
Lorraine Kelly, Robbie Williams and James Bond have also played – but they are just ordinary people who share names with stars.
The oldest contestant was 97 and the youngest to win £250,000 was Paddy Roberts, 18 when he triumphed in 2013.