An Edinburgh nurse made history on BBC gameshow The Wheel and scooped £82,000 – despite getting just one question right.
Oncology nurse Helen made history on the show hosted by Michael McIntyre when she became the first person to win the jackpot after answering a question correctly. And she might have gone home empty-handed if not for Rangers legend Allie McCoist, who guided her to the right answer.
Helen said she felt like she had been waiting a ‘lifetime down there’ to take part, as she was the last to ‘spin’ out of three contestants who faced seven celebrity guests and their special subjects. Her experience was short-lived after she was shut down with her first question, stepping in on Bake Off star John White.
It wasn’t over for Helen though, as she got back on the wheel towards the end of the show and was offered the chance to win £20,500 or £82,000 if she chose to help top player Ed Balls. She put her fate in the hands of McCoist, who came in last on the leader board.
Michael McIntyre told her: “You’ll be the first person to answer a question and win the show,” to which Helen replied: “I want to make history.” She said: “You know, I’ve come from nothing, I’ve done nothing so far so I feel like I have to stick with my fellow Scots.”
A Scottish couple faced a question on Lost Civilizations, asking them to identify in which modern country the ancient city of Troy was located. While Helen was tempted to go with Egypt as her final answer, the former Rangers manager convinced her to change her answer to Turkey – a move that saw her walk away with the biggest sum possible.
Helen, who told Celebs that her sister also worked as a doctor, said she will spend her winnings on a trip to Canada to visit her family. “Unfortunately we lost my grandmother last year and because it was Covid, we couldn’t get her the proper send-off she deserved and I’ve got family in Canada that we haven’t seen since she passed away, so I’d love to take my mom. Go to Canada to see my family and celebrate her in the way she deserves.
After hugging her now-hero, she offers to buy McCoist a pint as a thank you, to which he replies, “That’ll do for me.”
“To finally relax and celebrate and celebrate my gran in the way she deserves to be celebrated, thank you so much,” she said.
