Winners pose for Vanity Fair-style shoot to mark 25 years of National Lottery

Updated

Lucky winners with a combined fortune of more than £110 million have posed for a Vanity Fair-style photo shoot to mark The National Lottery’s 25th anniversary.

The 25 individuals from each year of the lottery’s existence are some of the biggest winners from more than 5,500 millionaires created since the first draw on November 19 1994.

The line-up includes 84-year-old Brian Caswell, from Bolton, who won £24.9 million in 2009 and Bev Middleton, 40, from Bradford, who received £14.5 million in 2017.

Mr Caswell, who now lives in a five-bedroom detached home with his wife Jean, 82, said his EuroMillions windfall not only paid for the new property, but for potentially life-saving surgery.

Euromillions winners
Euromillions winners

He said: “Five years ago, I needed an emergency quadruple bypass, and instead of waiting, our daughter researched the top surgeon and I paid to go private – so the lottery has kept me healthy as well as happy.”

While new homes and cars are common purchases, Cheryl Brudenell, from Stockton-on-Tees, used part of her £916,915 winnings to fund what she calls her “Robbie Hobby”.

Since 2001, the 52-year-old, who won in 1997, has watched singer Robbie Williams perform around 40 times across the world.

Since the first draw 25 years ago, The National Lottery said it has paid out more than £71 billion in prizes and raised £40 billion to support thousands of projects and charities across the UK.

Lotto jackpot winners
Lotto jackpot winners

The lottery’s senior winners’ adviser Andy Carter said: “These are just a tiny fraction of some of the lucky players who have won life-changing sums of money over the past 25 years.

“We have all had the ‘when I win the lottery’ conversation, but these lucky people are now living out their dreams.

“And we have learnt over the years that our players are a generous lot too. From research we have discovered that 11% of winners have made additional millionaires or multi-millionaires through kind donations to family and friends.

“In addition, more than 91% tell us that they have donated time or money to charities close to their hearts, meaning the benefit of every big win is reaching far and wide.”

The winners, who are aged between 26 and 84, were photographed by celebrity photographer Sven Arnstein.

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