Born and bred Aberdonian Alexander Hardingham has always considered himself “just a normal working man from the good old Granite City”.
Or at least until today.
Under a sky of colourful confetti, the 83-year-old became a “real VIP” after winning the biggest prize of the People’s Postcode Lottery on Saturday.
Mr Hardingham scooped the “incredible” jackpot of more than £730, 000 after his exact postcode was pulled out of the draw at a special unveiling ceremony at P&J Live.
He was one of 125 lucky players from the Seaton area of Aberdeen – with a postcode AB24 1 – who got to go home with a share of £3.2 million.
Seaton is regularly ranked as one of Aberdeen’s poorer areas, and the win comes at a time when households across the UK are bracing themselves for severe financial challenges.
While residents were initially told they could expect to win at least £5,000 each, they were left in “shock and disbelief” to discover every ticket bears the prize of £13,996.
A total of 101 Seaton residents received the single-ticket prize, while 20 others went home with an extra £27,992 in their bank accounts.
Among the winners was also a player with three tickets, who won £41,998, and another one with six tickets, who grabbed £83,976.
The big champions, however, were Mr Hardingham and Tilly Adams who won £733,648 and £366,824, respectively, for having the exact postcode for the jackpot.
‘A morning full of surprises’
Mr Hardingham, who started playing People’s Postcode Lottery about a year and a half ago, felt like he “couldn’t breathe” as ambassador Danyl Johnson unveiled the amount he had won.
He said: “I thought I was coming down here to win £5,000 and that was like half a million to me.
“And then seeing all these people drawing checks for £13,000, I was thinking ‘Well goodness me, that’s a lot of money – I’d be happy with that’.
“Then I got £27,000, then the big cheque for the full postcode, and then another one. It was like a morning of surprises – and it’s not even Christmas yet.
“I was just a normal working man up until today, and suddenly I’ve become all VIP. I used to wonder what that feels like – well, now you have it.
“I still can’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do with £5,000, let alone with all this cash now.”
With a cheeky giggle, Mr Hardingham added that while he might have missed the opportunity to get a girlfriend years ago, potential candidates will now be lining up outside his door.
And even though he still hasn’t made up his mind on how to spend the cash, he said the first thing he will do as “an almost millionaire” is buy a new guitar and belt out a country tune.
He added: “I didn’t start playing thinking I was going to win – it never really crossed my mind. But I knew it was for a good cause and I knew I was helping somebody with that £10.
“I’ll definitely get myself a new guitar. I’m a country dafty and always have been – all I need is a horse, and who knows, I might get one now even though I can’t ride it.
“It was unexpected. That’s life – it’s unexpected, the bad and the good just happens without asking. But well, this has certainly been a good day.”
Supporting charities with every lottery ticket
For Mrs Adams, today’s win was long-time coming after playing the People’s Postcode Lottery for nearly 20 years.
Tears filled her daughter Tracey’s eyes as they both went up on stage to collect the golden envelope with the jackpot.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in,” Mrs Adams said. “I’m still thinking about the £5,000.
“When they called me on Tuesday, I just thought it was a scam and I hung up on them.
“Never in a million years did I expected this to happen.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do with the money, but I will probably give it to my kids, my daughter and my son. As long as they are happy, I am happy.”
Mrs Adams started casting her monthly lottery tickets to support cancer charities.
Having had cancer herself, she wanted to give back to the groups that offer lifeline support to patients with the disease and their families.
People’s Postcode Lottery has donated around £950million to more than 900 charities across the UK, with 33% of each purchased ticket’s proceeds going to a good cause.
Tilly from Aberdeen has won £366,824 in the #MILLIONS!
Her money will be going into her bank account soon but sounds like it will be leaving it pretty quickly! Family comes first though as she will be sharing her win with her children ❤️
Let's see the moment she got her cheque! pic.twitter.com/DrPiWlAkLc
— Postcode Lottery (@PostcodeLottery) October 1, 2022
The great-grandmother added: “All charities are good, but the cancer charities we have really do an excellent job – not just with the patients, but with their families as well.
“£10 a month is nothing and if you think about it, you probably spend more on a cup of coffee every day.
“The most important things is that it’s going for a good cause -that’s why I started playing in the first place and that’s why I will keep going.”
Time for a well-deserved holiday
For most of the winners, the cash boost came as a welcome invitation to go on a well-deserved holiday.
Karen Noble, 56, and Gordon Massie, 64, who have been together for 23 years, both played with two tickets and netted a combined £55,844.
The couple said they will spend the prize on presents for their grandchildren and for a holiday, the destination of which is still to be determined.
Meanwhile, nursery supervisor Deborah Menzies could barely find words to describe her excitement when she received the £13,996 check.
“The whole experience has been surreal,” the 45-year-old said.
“I was just making tea at home when I got the call that our postcode has won, and they said it was going to be £5,000. Good thing that I was sitting down because I couldn’t believe it.
“And now it’s nearly £14,000. I’ve won £10 and £20 before quite a few times, but I never expected to win this amount. You just never expect it to be you who wins.
“We are definitely going on a holiday. My partner wants to go to Barbados – I’m not really sure about this one, but let’s be honest, we can get a couple of holidays out of that.”
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Postcode Lottery: How does it work and what are the chances of winning?
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