A 24-year-old man says he 'lost control of his body'; after winning £99,000 on the Lee Mack ITV quiz show The 1% Club. Daniel O’Halloran appeared on the show after his mum applied for him, as his parents are massive fans of the quiz.
The 1% Club sees 100 contestants compete to make it to the end and answer a final question only 1% of the country can get right. Daniel told The Echo: “I was quite confident in getting to the latter stages of the show, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined taking home that much money. I thought if I got to £10,000 with no money to fall back on, I’d take the £10,000 and wouldn't gamble."
But Daniel went for the final question, and won. He said: “I lost control of my body. I was running around celebrating on stage in total shock. I never thought I’d be standing there on the show, let alone winning it."
The hardest part of the process was keeping his winnings secret from his family afterwards. He said: “It was very difficult, there were some moments I nearly blurted it out or my family would ask me and I couldn’t keep the smile on my face. I only told my grandma and a few friends.”
Daniel watched his appearance on The 1% Club with his family last weekend (Image: Daniel O’Halloran)
The rest of his family gathered around the TV last Saturday to watch his appearance. He said: “When they were watching it, they couldn’t believe I’d done it. It was the best thing to see. They were in total shock - they said some things you probably couldn’t print in the paper! They couldn’t believe I’d kept it secret.”
Since the broadcast, Daniel said he feels like a “minor celebrity”. He said: “It’s been crazy. People in shops and in the streets have been asking me about it. I’m overwhelmed by how kind everyone has been.”
Daniel said: “All the other contestants were great and probably got me through it! Lee Mack was lovely too.”
Asked how he will spend the money, Daniel added: “I’ve got to be sensible, maybe look towards the house, pay the mortgage off. But I’ve got to enjoy it as well. I can’t take this for granted.”
