23 February 2024 , 10:57
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The father of a EuroMillions winner has revealed the first eight words his daughter said to him after she bagged the £61million jackpot.
Debbie and Richard Nuttall, from Colne, Lancashire, were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in Fuerteventura when they scooped the £61,708,231 prize on January 30. The couple, who are both 54, managed to contain their excitement and wait until they got home to tell their family face-to-face.
They decided to take their loved ones out for a fry-up as part of their big reveal once they further confirmed the win back home. Debbie’s dad, John, said he had no idea about the fortune until they got back from holiday. He told The Mirror: “She said, ‘You might want to sit down for this’. I was dumbfounded but it couldn’t happen to a nicer couple.”
The 74-year-old further shared that their family have suffered from loss after Debbie's cousin, Ben King, died at the age of 27 after battling a rare auto-immune disease. John said it was "more than likely" that his daughter would honour her cousin's memory by doing something charitable.
The couple are now planning for early retirement (Reach Commissioned)So far, Richard, who is an accountant, and Debbie, who works for a civil engineering firm, have treated themselves to a new BMW X5. The pair also plan to use the fortune to help them go into early retirement. They further shared that they can picture their life overseas and said they would like to purchase a second home in sunny Portugal so they can spend more quality time with their two daughters and three granddaughters.
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Richard earlier spoke to BBC North West and said they have been in an "absolute daze" since their lottery win and said it felt "surreal". He explained that he had first thought it was a "scam" after he previously checked his lottery account and saw that they had won £2.60. But after he received another email he decided to check again.
"We were totally stunned, it said we had won over £61m," he said. The couple later managed to get reception to confirm their win with the National Lottery. "By this time me and Debs are going mental... jumping up and down in our car seats, punching the air, thumping the dashboard... the car must have been rocking," said Richard. He explained that they are still trying to wrap their heads around the life-changing sum and said: "We've always worked and now we have got the opportunity to do whatever we want."