The UK winner of a £71 million EuroMillions jackpot was today revealed as a 58-year-old factory worker from Hereford.
Ade Goodchild claimed a prize of £71,057,439 following Friday’s EuroMillions draw, an amount said to be the UK’s 15th biggest win.
He told a press conference in Great Malvern, Worcestershire: ‘I’m not one of these winners who is going to say this win won’t change me. It bloody well will, or at least I’ll give it a damn good go!
He added: ‘There’ll be no more shift work for me. I want to travel, find myself a lovely new home, go to top sporting events, and try many other things besides.’
Mr Goodchild said he celebrated his win by watching the Wales v Ireland rugby match on television with his parents while sharing a takeaway pizza and spicy chicken wings, all washed down with Italian beer.
Ade Goodchild, 58, is pictured during a Camelot press conference today at The Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern, Worcestershire
Mr Goodchild, who is originally from South Wales but now lives in Hereford, is pictured (second right) with family members
He said he had an urge to check his ticket on Saturday, instead of waiting for Monday as usual, and did not realise he had won the jackpot at first when he scanned his ticket on the National Lottery App.
‘It gave me the winning ‘ping’ sound and I thought I might have won a fiver or something,’ he said. ‘But when I checked I thought hang on, it looks like I’ve won £71,000.
‘I put my glasses on to double check and then spotted that it was the jackpot prize and that all my numbers were circled. I thought wow, a lot of people have shared the jackpot this week but fair play. Then I read the prize amount again and realised that it was actually £71million and just one winner – me!
‘It was then that I called my Mum and Dad. Their reaction was one of complete shock – I still don’t think it’s sunk in for them.’
A new home, ideally with swimming pool and Jacuzzi – plus a few staff to help run it – is on Mr Goodchild’s wish list, along with watching cricket and rugby around the world, as well as visiting The Grand Canyon and the Pyramids in Egypt.
Factory worker Mr Goodchild from Hereford claimed a prize of £71,057,439 after the EuroMillions draw last Friday
‘I’m not a gardener but I’d like a bit of space for the dogs and a nice spot for my hammock on sunny days so it would be good to have someone to take care of the view for me,’ he said.
Mr Goodchild said he celebrated his win by watching the Wales v Ireland rugby match on television with his parents
‘I think I could also get used to a driver and even my own cook.’
Mr Goodchild, who bought his winning ticket from The Co-op on Ledbury Road in Hereford, said he would also treat his parents to a new home.
‘I am an only child and my parents have always been there for me,’ he said.
‘Like all parents, they worry about my mortgage, bills and how long I will have to work for. I’ve told my parents they can stop saving now and spend my inheritance.’
Mr Goodchild, whose family are originally from South Wales, said he plans to help his extended family too, after having to keep the win a secret from them when they met on Sunday.
‘Me and my cousins often get together and the date was already in the diary last Sunday to meet for lunch,’ he said.
‘I must have come across very emotional but I couldn’t tell them about the win. I didn’t want to spoil our day! Most of them know now though. I am going to enjoy sitting down and chatting about how I might be able to help them.’
Friday’s winning main EuroMillions numbers were 03, 15, 24, 42 and 46, and the winning EuroMillions Lucky Star numbers were 09 and 12. There is an estimated £14 million jackpot for Tuesday’s draw.
Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery, previously said 2019 was turning out to be a ‘lucky one’ for UK EuroMillions players.
Friday’s winning main EuroMillions numbers were 03, 15, 24, 42 and 46, and the winning EuroMillions Lucky Star numbers were 09 and 12 (file image)
‘We’ve already seen Patrick and Frances Connolly from Northern Ireland bank £114.9 million from the draw on New Year’s Day and we now have another multi-million-pound UK EuroMillions winner,’ he said.
‘This is the 15th-biggest winner this country has ever seen and we look forward to toasting their win.’
Mr and Mrs Connolly, from Moira, County Down, became the UK’s fourth-biggest lottery winners on New Year’s Day.
Their win followed builder Andrew Clark, 51, from Boston, Lincolnshire, finding out in November he had won £76million six weeks after the draw.
In July 2011, Colin and Chris Weir from Ayrshire became the biggest lottery winners in the UK, and across Europe, when they won more than £161million.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford from Suffolk scooped a prize of more than £148 million in August 2012.
Last year, one lucky ticket-holder, who chose to remain anonymous, landed a £121 million jackpot in April while another took home just over £77million in February.
Who is the biggest ever UK lottery winner? Two couples and a former car mechanic top list
Here are the six previous biggest UK winners of the EuroMillions draw so far
1. In July 2011, Colin and Chris Weir became Europe’s biggest lottery winners when they scooped more than £161million.
The couple, who have been married for 30 years, said they were ‘not scared’ of the wealth because they were going to have ‘so much fun’ with the money.
The pair, a retired TV cameraman and a retired psychiatric nurse, from Largs, in Ayrshire, said their children Carly, a photography student, and Jamie, a call centre worker, would be bought their own homes and cars.
The family made a £1million donation to the SNP shortly after winning.
Colin and Chris Weir became Europe’s biggest lottery winners when they scooped more than £161million in 2011
2. Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, took home more than £148 million in August 2012.
The marriage ended just 15 months into their new jackpot winning lives, citing the stress of the money as the reason they needed to split.
At the time, a spokesman for Mrs Bayford said: ‘Gillian Bayford confirms that her marriage to Adrian has broken down irretrievably and they have separated.’
It came after Mrs Bayford was forced to deny she had an affair with the couple’s gardener, Chris Tovey.
Adrian and Gillian Bayford, from Suffolk, took home more than £148 million in August 2012
3. An anonymous ticket-holder took home £121m
4. Patrick and Frances Connolly from County Armagh scooped the entire £115million EuroMillions jackpot on New Year’s Day 2019
5. An unnamed ticket-holder claimed just over £113million in October 2010, and chose not go public.
6. Neil Trotter, from south London, won nearly £108million, going from former car mechanic to multimillionaire in March 2014.
Neighbours in Croydon described he and partner Nicky Ottaway moved out ‘almost overnight’ after they scooped the EuroMillions jackpot last March.
Mr Trotter admitted at the time that he was like his namesake, Del Boy Trotter from Only Fools And Horses.
Neil Trotter, with partner Nicky Ottaway, won nearly £108million, going from former car mechanic to multimillionaire in March 2014
7. A couple from Cambridgeshire, Dave and Angela Dawes, won more than £101million on their third go on the EuroMillions draw in October 2011.
Mr Dawes said he ‘didn’t sleep a wink’ the night of the win, as it was too late to call Camelot after the couple checked their numbers.
Last year, the couple were taken to court by his son, an Afghanistan veteran, Michael Dawes, 32, who said he was ‘ungenerous in spirit’.
But a judge ruled the millionaire father does not need to keep bailing out his son, who burnt through £1.6million in two years, and came back for more, failing to heed his stepmother’s advice to stop eating at the Ritz and go to McDonald’s instead.
8. A UK winner got a £93 million payout in June 2015, but decided to remain anonymous.
Dave and Angela Dawes won more than £101million on their third go on the EuroMillions draw in October 2011