The man who won the biggest UK game show prize in history was forced to flee country, it has been reported. Graham Fletcher managed to win a huge £1.5million when he took part in ITV’s Red Or Black.
Despite his impressive win, Graham had to leave his home. The show was presented by Ant and Dec and aired from September 2011 to 2012.
The aim of the game was that contestants had to choose either red or black each round and those who chose the wrong colour would be eliminated. The first series saw four people become millionaires which included Nathan Hageman, Kevin Cartwright, Darren Thompson and Gary Brocklesby.
Graham scooped his £1.5million in the second series of the show. However, it wasn’t as great as it seemed as the new millionaire was forced to leave his home in the UK once word got out of his winnings.
Speak to LadBible, he said: “The next day I was staying at a friend’s house and hardly anyone knew where I lived, my parents could not have told me my address, they could have driven to it but not known my address. So literally a handful of people knew where I lived. The next day I had press outside my house and it was in the papers next day.
“No one was supposed to know what had happened but I get out to go in the car and the next thing I know there’s 10 photographers. The neighbours were stressing like I’ve done something wrong, I had to explain to them what’s happened.”
Graham decided to leave the UK and went to Egypt for two weeks before spending the next three weeks in Cyprus. However, he still wasn’t able to get away from all the drama as Brits abroad still recognised him.
Graham went on to spend a chunk of his money on a Range Rover Evoque Sport and a BMW convertible as well as buying a property in need of renovation for £600,000 and went onto sell it for £880,000 the following year. He now lives in Spain with his wife and works as a football agent.
Red or Black hasn’t come back on TV since and isn’t scheduled to make a return. However, TV fans will be excited to know that a Mr & Mrs revival is in the works.
ITV is working on bringing the iconic show back where couples get together and prove just how well they really know each other. The new version will be based on the original show which came to an end in 1999.
However, the new show will have a twist, with an ad for new contestants reading: “Do you know your partner better than anyone? Are you the ultimate team? Would you like to take on some fun physical challenges together?”
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