02 November 2023 , 00:01
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A wife dismissed a National Lottery email, thinking it was only to say she had won £3 – then learned it was £1million.
In a newly-released audio clip of former admin worker Charlotte Peart ringing the lotto call centre, she is overcome with laughter and says giddily: “I think I’m going to cry.” Charlotte has now told how she used her winnings to set up a business, buy a family home and spend more time with her husband Daniel and their three children.
Charlotte won £1m in a 2018 EuroMillions draw, several weeks after playing a prank on Daniel by fooling him into thinking they had won a £250,000 jackpot. So when she called to tell him they had matched five numbers, he had to send him a screengrab of them. In the clip, she calls and says: “I found out this morning. You get emails come through and you’ve won three quid so I left it.
Audio of moment Charlotte was told she was a millionaire has been released“I thought I would just go on there and check it. I didn’t expect to see six zeros at the end. You don’t see that often. I can’t believe it, I think I’m in shock.” After confirming the win, the operator says: “Congratulations, have a good day.” Charlotte replies: “I’m having a brilliant day, cheers!”
Five years on, the mum-of-three said: “I vividly remember it, I could not stop giggling. It was nerves coupled with shocked disbelief. Two weeks earlier I had wound Daniel up that we’d won £250,000 so to call to officially claim £1m was just crazy.” Charlotte, 33, used the last £1.50 in their online lotto account to enter the draw. The couple bought a dream family home.
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Daniel, 32, is still a carpenter and Charlotte has set up her own small business, and they have two labradors including one called Millie – short for millionaire. She said: “Without our win it just wouldn’t have been possible.” The National Lottery has made 7,000 millionaires its 1994 launch.
Many are stunned into silence and a poll also found 13% burst into tears, 5% danced and 13% ran around the room. Some 375 millionaires were made in 2022. Anita Pires, who works at the call centre, said: “Reactions differ enormously, I’ve heard it all.”