Entertainment
Ant McPartlin ‘nearly broke the desk’ with wild celebrations after couple won £1,000,000 on Limitless Win-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
What a moment!
![Ant McPartlin ‘nearly broke the desk’ with wild celebrations after couple won £1,000,000 on Limitless Win-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-13-at-21.23.14-61e4-e1705187801120.png?w=1024)
Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win has crowned its first millionaires! (Picture: ITV)
Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win has dished out some hefty prizes in the past but never £1,000,000 – until now.
Yep, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s quiz show has officially made two players millionaires and it was all thanks to one man’s impeccable memory regarding… Blur.
NHS workers Helen and Charlie cashed out for a mega £1million after correctly answering a question about two rival Britpop bands, proudly saying the cash will ‘pay off our mortgage’.
Charlie, an NHS finance manager – who likes general knowledge, and Helen, an NHS communications manager – who admits she is competitive, took on the quiz during the second episode of series three.
The husband and wife first met on a blind date after Charlie’s mother suggested the meeting.
Before winning, the couple said they wanted to spend the money on returning to Hawaii, where they went on a honeymoon, with their children.
Helen and Charlie were faced with a pop music question – and he was certain of the answer (Picture: ITV)
With £100,000 in the bank at the time, there was already a lot at stake (Picture: ITV)
Helen said the kids want a villa in Mexico with a chef and to build a computer.
After banking £100,000, the jackpot reached £1million, and their answer of 29 for the question of, ‘2024 marks how many years since Blur beat Oasis to the UK number one spot with the song Country House?’
Ant asked Charlie why he was ‘so calm’ when the Geordie host was ‘hyperventilating’ at seeing the total prize money.
When they won, Ant and Dec probably had a more energetic reaction than anyone, as they jumped around the stage and even climbed onto the table while Charlie and Helen embraced emotionally.
Speaking in an interview post-show, Ant and Dec said the atmosphere in the studio was ‘electric’.
‘We’ve been involved thankfully in some gloriously epic Saturday night TV. The Will and Gareth Pop Idol final, Susan Boyle and Diversity on BGT. The atmosphere in the studio was as electric as those!’, Ant said.
‘And when that question came up and he turned to her and he said, “I know it. I know, know it.” We just couldn’t believe it. Honestly, it was goosebumps all around. It was incredible. But still, you had those nerves that, “Did he really know it? Did he get it right? Had he got the exact answer?” And when he did, oh wow what a feeling!’, Dec added.
He joked that Ant ‘nearly broke the desk’ while celebrating, saying: ‘We’re gonna have to take that off their winnings.’
Teary-eyed, Helen called the moment ‘surreal’.
‘Honestly, it’s like a dream,’ she also said.
The pair cashed out for an epic £1,000,000 (Picture: ITV)
There were hugs and tears all ’round! (Picture: ITV)
Helen and Charlie are hoping to pay off their mortgage (Picture: ITV)
The married couple then lost lives when they were asked a question about the weight of Marvel character Captain America’s shield.
Unsure of an answer about NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars, the pair cashed out at £1million, which is certainly not to be sniffed at!
‘It’s been amazing from start to finish, it’s going to take a while to sink in, I think,’ Helen said.
Backstage, they seemed astounded at what had just happened.
After the show aired, Charlie said: ‘We are going to take our time deciding what to do as this will change things significantly for us.
‘We will pay off our mortgage and Helen has a significant birthday this year, so we are planning to go to New Zealand to see one of Helen’s closest friends who lives there.
‘We also need a new (second hand) car which might now be a bit nicer than we were planning. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us so we will use the majority of it to set us and our children up for the future.’
Ant McPartlin nearly broke the set with his celebrations! (Picture: ITV)
He said they first told Helen’s mother and father, who were on holiday at their house, and ‘their jaws dropped when we told them how much’.
Charlie also said: ‘On the morning of the record, we talked about having a code between us should a question come up that one of us was absolutely 100% certain about.
‘That way we could go for the big answer if it came along. We decided to use the code, “I know, know the answer.”
‘As soon as that question came up, I realised that I knew, knew it – 100% – so there was nothing to be nervous about. The only time we realised the scale of it was when we locked in the answer and the whole audience gasped.
‘But although I knew the answer, the only reason we were able to walk away with the money is because Helen 100% trusted me to lock the answer in – that level of trust means more to me than the money ever will.’
What a moment! (Picture: ITV)
He also said that he and Helen were ‘lucky’, so ‘if we can do it then I’m sure others will be able to win even more in the future’.
Previously, the TV game show’s biggest prize went to Katherine and Will, who bagged £500,000 in series 1.
Last week, sisters Tina and Tracy won £100,000.
But, will anyone top it?
Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win season three continues on Saturday on ITV1 and ITVX.
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