Tempting Fortune fans were left shocked on Monday night after a surprise end to the dramatic series saw an unlikely contestant walk away with huge winnings.
During the Channel 4 series, 12 strangers trekked across South Africa with basic survival gear for 18 days as they made their way towards a shared £300,000 prize.
But they were tempted along the way with pricey treats that they could pay for from their pot of winnings.
One of the contestants who opted for a huge number of temptations and depleted the prize fund was Lani, 33, a graphic designer – but she still walked away with more than £20,475.
Fans were frustrated by the outcome as she was seemingly rewarded despite splashing the cash on costly luxury items including a silent disco and coffee.
Big bucks: Tempting Fortune fans were shocked on Monday night after a surprise end to the dramatic series saw an unlikely contestant walk away with huge winnings (Pictured: Lani)
Challenge: During the show, 12 strangers trekked across South Africa for 18 days and were tempted with luxury items they had to pay for from their £300,000 prize pot
However, Lani admitted that she wished she had taken more temptations and did not regret her actions.
On the show, presented by Paddy McGuinness, other contestants also took home impressive amounts of money.
James, who was the least tempted by luxuries along the way, was given the most amount of cash – £22,608.
And although Dee used a large amount of money to treat herself, she still got £19,608 in prize money.
Viewers flocked to Twitter to share their anger after the show, confused that there was such a small money gap between the winner and loser of the series.
One person wrote: ‘Only £3k difference between the best and worst spenders, due to most of the selfish spending coming out of the group prize pot.
‘Have to feel for Tahira only taking slightly more home than the likes of Lani & Michelle who spent ridiculous amounts #TemptingFortune.’
Another added: ‘You could/should’ve done more with the ending there. Man I feel sorry for the group who didn’t take any temptations! Literally £2k in it?!
‘For what?! Lani should’ve gone home with nothing the pain in the a**e.’
Shock: One of the contestants who opted for a number of temptations and depleted the prize fund was Lani – but she still walked away with more than £20,475
Winnings: On the show, presented by Paddy McGuinness (pictured) other contestants also took home impressive amounts of money
Another person penned: ‘So there wasn’t much difference in the end then? Surprised Lani still got so much.’
And someone else wrote: ‘Sorry but £3k-ish difference between them just makes the whole not taking a temptation so funny.
‘I would have totally spent as much as I could for sure. No way would you have those experiences without the show. Also Lani is an icon.’
It comes after Paddy left the contestants on Tempting Fortune in shock as he made quite the entrance.
In a clip exclusively obtained by MailOnline, the 49-year-old presenter stunned onlookers when he arrived on a beach in the South African wilderness via a London black cab.
After clambering out of his black cab and introducing himself to the contestants, Paddy was quick to explain the rules.
He said: ‘Along the way you’re going to find temptations that will make life a lot easier but everything comes at a price…
‘And if any of you can’t make it to the end of the journey 25k will be knocked off the prize fund.’
He added: ‘They’ve got everything they need but have they got everything they want? That’s a different story.’
Confused: People flocked to Twitter to share their anger after the show, confused that there was such a small money gap between the winner and loser of the series
Channel 4 announced that Paddy was hosting Tempting Fortune a fortnight after two of his BBC programmes – Catchpoint and I Can See Your Voice – were axed by the Corporation.
It comes amid a turbulent period in his career after ITV’s dating favourite Take Me Out was axed after 11 series in 2020.
He initially shot to stardom alongside fellow Bolton comedian, the hugely popular Peter Kay, in Phoenix Nights after working as a lifeguard and fitness instructor at a leisure centre for more than seven years.
During an interview with Absolute Radio in 2021, Paddy revealed that he made more money while working at Horwich Leisure Centre than on the beloved show, adding that he was scared to leave the role.
Alongside stand-up tours, Paddy continued to make regular TV appearances, including a stand-in role on This Morning and two series of Rory and Paddy’s Great British Adventure with comedian Rory McGrath.
He then landed the presenter role for ITV’s Saturday night primetime show Take Me Out, which would see a single man arrive on stage in a ‘love lift’ before being greeted by a panel of 30 women.
All the women have a ‘light’ on and the man has to try and convince as many of the ladies as possible to leave their lights on for him before he picks which girl he likes.
When the guy had found his match, the couple would then go on a date to the fictional location of the Isle of Fernando’s in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
One to watch: Tempting Fortune saw 12 strangers give up all luxuries to endure a gruelling 18-day trek challenge across the toughest of terrain
But the show was cancelled by bosses in February 2020, with ITV saying the programme had ‘run its course’ after airing for nine years.
A year before the show was axed, though, McGuiness landed a coveted role as one of the three Top Gear presenters with Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris.
In 2021 he began hosting Question Of Sport but it lost a significant number of viewers since Paddy took the presenting spot.
The BBC sports quiz show was fronted by Sue, 66, from 1997 until last year when she was replaced by McGuinness – with audience numbers dropping to an average of 850,000 this series, according to The Sun.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk