Kieran McLaughliin, 29, from Glasgow, who won £1 million on ITV's Win Win with Postcode Lottery, has been sleeping on a sofa at his grandmother's house for the past 15 years, since being orphaned at age 13. He plans to spend the prize money on buying his first home.
Living with Gran since age 13
McLaughliin moved in with his grandmother, May, nearly 16 years ago. He and his twin brother, Kane, were orphaned after the death of their father, which came five years after they lost their mother at age eight.
He told The Mirror: "I've lived with my Gran since I was about 13. She took me in, and my brother and I each sleep on one of the two couches. It's insane to think that I've slept on a couch for 15 years. It's just mad. With the money, I can obviously just go and buy a house. I've been saving for a house, believe me, I've been saving. But it's just so hard."
Working six days a week
McLaughliin currently works as a civil servant Monday to Friday and as a bridal and event make-up artist on Saturdays. He now hopes to focus more on his side-hustle. "I don't really do the make-up for the income. I actually do it just for fun because I love being a part of somebody's wedding and making them feel special. I think I'll try to focus more on that," he said.
After his win aired on ITV, he was asked who he would tell first. He said: "I'm scared to tell my Gran because I feel like I'm going to give her a heart attack. She's 83, so I need to kind of ease it into conversation. I can't just disrupt her peace and kill off my Gran when I win £1,000,000 pounds."
Plans for the prize
He plans to celebrate by going on a luxury Caribbean cruise with his boyfriend Reece, a final-year nursing student, in January. He also intends to share the money with his brother, saying: "Every single week before I went to play on the show, he would ask me, 'What are you going to give me when you win?' And I said, 'I don't know. I'm going to think about it.' So, I will give him a good chunk of money. He's my twin, I've spent my whole life with him, and I just want to give him what I've got as well. I know he needs a new work van because his work van has just broken down, so I'll probably buy him one."
He also plans to take Kane on another prize, a trip to Florida, because they have family there. "I'll buy a house straight away," he declared. "I'm usually so scared of spending money, so the second thing I'll do will definitely be to get a financial adviser."
Winning the show
In the programme, hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, McLaughliin succeeded over six weeks, eventually beating fellow player Sabrina to the top prize. He said he never doubted he could go all the way: "From my audition, I said, 'I know I have what it takes to win the £1million. I can see myself in the final.' I'm either delusional or overly confident, or maybe I'm both because I've done it."
He described being on the show as the "best six weeks of my life" but said he found it very hard at the end. "I felt so nervous, clearly, because I was crying like every five minutes. I could barely stand up. Every single contestant that has walked through the door has been one of the nicest people ever. Nobody has ever been ungrateful. Everybody's so loving and caring. They're so kind. I would have been so happy if it had been anybody else that won, from the bottom of my heart."
Now, he says he is still pinching himself over the win: "Hearing the word millionaire is crazy. That money is insane. People don't see that amount of money where I'm from. It's actually mind-blowing. I genuinely feel like I'm dreaming, but I also feel like I deserve it. It's crazy to try to put it into words."
