Rankin has photographed the most famous people in the country – and now he has lined up some of the luckiest.
This ensemble of 30 National Lottery winners has claimed nearly £200 million between them since the game was launched in the UK in 1994.
They include those who have spent their millions on mansions, luxury holidays and breast surgery for their sisters, while others have lived a more frugal lifestyle.
Some continue to work, despite their windfalls.
The lottery has created more than 7,400 millionaires across its main draw, EuroMillions, scratchcards and other games in the last 30 years.
This included retired account manager Lesley Higgins, from Aberdeenshire, who won nearly £58 million with her husband Fred on the EuroMillions in 2018 – despite a shop worker accidentally tearing the ticket in half, believing the ticket had not won.
Mrs Higgins said the money indirectly saved her husband’s life.
‘(The win) meant we could afford a custom-made kilt to attend our niece’s wedding, so when Fred was measured up and then returned to collect the kilt six weeks later and it fell off him as he’d lost so much weight and we hadn’t noticed, we knew there was a problem.
‘He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and had surgery, so I feel that The National Lottery saved his life in a way.’
Rankin, who has photographed the late Queen, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, as well as ordinary members of the public, said of the winners: ‘They are normal people who have had an extraordinary thing happen to them, transforming their lives.’
The winners, pictured in numerical order, are:
1) Matt Myles, 38, from Hereford, won £1 million in 2014:
He has travelled the world with his wife Stacey, 35, and also took a group of mates on holiday.
He said: ‘I flew to Bali for five weeks, on to Thailand, Brazil for the World Cup, which was unbelievable, then went to Ibiza on the mega holiday with 13 of my pals.’
Matt also used the money to buy and renovate a property with his brother, which they subsequently sold.
They now have three properties and their business is doing well.
Matt’s life now revolves around his family, and he has since bought the land around the family’s converted chapel home and built a playground for one of his autistic sons.
2) Julie Jeffery, 63, from Watford, won £1 million in 2002:
She only retired last June after 25 years as a fire station cook and lives with retired kitchen planner husband Chris, 68.
She said: ‘I loved my job cooking for firemen at the local station in Hertfordshire and when I realised on that fateful morning that I’d won, I had to go into work because the lads needed their breakfast.’
The couple paid off their mortgage and bought a holiday home on a leisure site near Exeter.
The year of their win they flew to Florida, and the couple continue to take big adventure holidays including Vietnam, Cambodia, Alaska and a safari in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Speaking two years after the win, Julie recalled: ‘Chris and I spent £40,000 improving our three-bed semi and also bought a £90,000 mobile holiday home in Devon.
‘We’ve splashed out £24,000 on two cars and Chris has bought a season ticket for Watford Football Club.’
3) Sylvia Odolant-Smith, 47, from Essex, won £10,000 a month for 30 years in 2019:
She lives with husband Gavin, 44, in Essex.
The couple gave up their hectic jobs in the catering business soon after.
They bought a little flat in Brittany, France, which they’re doing up. They have also refurbished their home in the UK.
Their plan is to do up properties, enjoy life together – and continue to rescue animals.
4) Brian Sharp, 63, from Musselburgh in East Lothian, won £2 million in 2010:
The motor racing enthusiast was working a night shift as an electrician at the Royal Bank of Scotland at the time of his win.
He lives with wife Ann, 62, and the win meant the couple could buy their dream five-bedroom home beside the river that they used to walk along as a young couple – something they only ever dreamed about.
Brian said: ‘Our aim is to see every Formula 1 Grand Prix.
‘As we go around the world following Formula One racing, we’ve rubbed shoulders with Damon Hill and David Coulthard and we’ve spotted Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg.’
5) Ben Lowther, 41, from Cambridge, won £1 million in 2021, three days before he lost his job as a games developer
He lives with partner Holly, 31, and their three children.
He recalled: ‘We won on the Friday night, and on the Monday I lost my job.
‘I was devastated but we were in a more fortunate situation thanks to our win.
‘Coincidently, one of our neighbours who also had a young family had lost his job too, so it was lovely that we were able to help them out financially as it was so close to Christmas.’
A few months after the win the couple found their dream four-bedroom home.
Ben bought his first ever suit – a £700 cashmere one – to propose to Holly in Paris.
The couple previously did not have the money to marry but are now planning the wedding of their dreams.
6) Lesley Higgins, 63, from Aberdeenshire, won £58 million with husband Fred in 2018:
The couple now live on a grand 850-acre estate near Perth, purchased after their momentous win.
‘When we won, I placed our winning ticket in an envelope and wrote: Money worries over.’
Their win came despite a shop worker accidentally tearing up their ticket.
The slip was ripped in half and chucked in the bin at their local shop when staff mistook it for another set of losing numbers.
It was only when Mr Higgins asked another worker to run the numbers through the machine manually that they discovered that had indeed won.
7) Viv Moss, 73, originally from Northamptonshire, won £6 million in 1998:
She later bought a home in Newquay, Cornwall with her late husband Kevin, who sadly died this year.
Viv worked teaching hairstyling at a local college at the time of her win.
She also stood in as holiday cover at a local salon.
She said: ‘We fell in love with Cornwall and when we saw apartments being built overlooking our favourite bay, we bought one and moved.
‘I body board in the surf whenever the weather allows.’
Natalie Cunliffe, 39, from Blackpool, won £1 million with husband Andrew in 2016:
The pair subsequently moved to a new house with their two children following their scratchcard win.
Natalie said: ‘Andrew popped the question as soon as he won, and we had our dream wedding in Cyprus the following year.’
The couple discovered an abandoned 1930s house and renovated it together over lockdown.
Now, it has four bedrooms, with ensuites, a walk-in wardrobe, hot tub and wine fridge.
It also has goalposts in the garden for the children.
Gareth Bull, 53, from Mansfield in Notts, won nearly £41 million on the EuroMillions in 2012:
He has since built his own 6,000 square foot mansion.
Much of it he built by himself during lockdown when the builders had to stop due to the Covid restrictions.
He said: ‘The finished house has four bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and their own separate staircases, an eight-foot projector screen, a swimming pool complete with a wave machine, plus two hot tubs.
‘I started digging a pond but I just kept going and shaped it into an ‘L’ for lottery and turned it into a lake, the size of two tennis courts.
‘I also built a ‘Lottery Lodge’ beside it.’
Anne Canavan, 63, from south west London, won £1 million in 2015:
The inventor and best-selling co-author, splits her time between Northern Ireland and Kingston-upon-Thames.
And she has been keen not to let her windfall go to her head.
She said: ‘I live in the same four-bed house I had before I won. I spent £50,000 doing it up, and I bought three further properties as investments.
‘I read that Roald Dahl used to drive an old banger, so I bought a 2008 Saab.
‘In 2021, during the pandemic, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Luckily it was caught early but the experience has helped me be determined to make the very most of life.’
Jonny Johnston, 46, from Co Fermanagh, won £3.8 million a year ago:
The Tesco delivery driver, married to long-term partner Christina, said: ‘When the win was verified, I rang work and cleared my shifts.
‘But they were stuck on the Christmas deliveries, and I couldn’t bear the thought of my elderly customers being let down.
‘So, on 23 December I did the 7.30-5.30pm shift.’
Jonny loves tractors and now owns five.
But he has promised his wife that he will not be buying any more for the time being.
Jackie King, 68, from Humberston in Lincs, won £14 million in 1998:
She lives with her two rescue dogs after downsizing her six-bedroom house when her sons left home.
She said: ‘My second rescue dog, Barley, has big anxiety problems.
‘He came from the RSPCA, and I don’t think he’d ever actually had a walk before, but luckily I could pay for a dog trainer and dog behaviourist to help give him a new lease of life.’
She added: ‘I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, but my favourite purchase would have to be my two gorgeous dogs Barley and Suki, a springer spaniel and a Dogue de Bordeaux.’
She previously described continuing to send her sons to state school.
She said: ‘Sometimes people would come around (to the house) and I could tell quite quickly who was genuine and who just wanted to poke around.’
Jodie Langston, 27, from Birmingham, won £1 million in 2019:
She married husband Alex, a painter and decorator, in July this year.
The win was three weeks before Jodie’s 23rd birthday.
She bought a house three doors away from her parents, a BMW1 Series and treated herself to personalised number plates.
She said: ‘In July this year I had the wedding of my dreams – a huge country house, nine groomsmen and nine bridesmaids with a honeymoon in Greece.
‘There’s no way I could have afforded such a special wedding without my win.’
Dean Allen, 50, from Ongar in Essex, was just 26 when he won nearly £14 million in 2000:
He immediately gave up work, but volunteered at a local school and now coaches football.
He went on to marry his then girlfriend Louise, now 47.
He said did not know that he had won until three days after the draw when he finally bothered to check his ticket on his mobile phone.
Reflecting on his windfall years later, he said: ‘I was 26 when I won, and I went out and bought a shirt and jacket for the press conference.
‘I then swapped my Ford Fiesta for a Porsche 911, my dream car, and married Louise, my girlfriend of three months.
‘My most unusual purchase has been two acres of the moon I bought it on the internet.’
Ceri Roscoe-Roberts, 43, from north-west Wales, won £1 million last November:
She promptly bought a guest house in Snowdonia with husband Paul, 46, a golf course manager.
She said: ‘I left my job and we bought a guest house with every bedroom en-suite and a garage.
‘Now, I wake every morning and it still takes a while for reality to sink in.’
Ceri said she only brought a lottery ticket because she woke up with ‘a strong feeling’ to do so.
Her first reaction was to turn to her husband Paul and scream ‘we’re millionaires’.
Elaine Thompson, 69, from North Shields, won £2.7 million in 1995 with her husband Derek, 66:
She bought the lucky winning ticket on the couple’s 17th wedding anniversary.
The couple opened a restaurant in Lyme Regis, but eventually returned to their native North East, and to Newcastle.
Elaine still felt that she needed a job, so stacked shelves part-time at M&S up until three years ago, from midnight to 6am, and took advantage of the staff discount.
She said: ‘Since our win, we have bought four racehorses – our first one we nicknamed Sicknote.
‘And this year achieved our long-held ambition of visiting every racecourse in the UK.’
Elaine has also helped advise new winners.
Donna Hendry, 54, from West Lothian, won £4 million in 2015:
She shared with win with husband David, but he died five years later with cancer.
The couple had been together for 30 years, and married for 23.
The pair both gave up their jobs straight away and bought a bigger house in the same area.
They travelled widely including to Memphis, because David was such an Elvis fan, and it was after returning from a trip to California to celebrate Donna’s 50th in February 2020 that David was diagnosed.
Donna said: ‘He died four months later and our son was only 18 at the time. He’s just graduated with a first, and I know his father would have been so proud.’
Peter Congdon, 76, from Truro, won £13.5 million in 2015 and immediately began to share his newfound wealth:
He gave £1.2 million plus a brand-new Range Rover to fund a hydro pool at a local Multiple Sclerosis centre in memory of his late wife Rosemary, who battled the condition for more than 30 years.
His generous spirit persists to this day.
At weekends he drives brides to their weddings for free in his £250,000 Bentley Continental.
He said: ‘If I hear of a couple who can’t afford a wedding car, I’ll volunteer and turn up in my best suit.’
The winners, pictured above left to right, in the middle row, are:
Neil Leighton, 25, from Hereford, won £1 million last Christmas:
Neil bought a four-bedroom house near to his parents, although his mother still cooks his tea.
His main spending will be on train memorabilia, and he would love to have a steam train at some point – even if it is just a small ride-on railway.
Neil has also shared the wealth.
He said: ‘A month after my win, it was my birthday and I took 13 of my friends to Greece and hired a beautiful villa with a view of the sea and our own swimming pool.
‘It cost £30,000 but it would have been wrong not to do something really fun before sensible Neil took over.’
Hannah Hallsworth, 35, from Sheffield, won £1 million in 2008 while still at university:
She said: ‘I was 19 and in my second year at De Montford University when I won.
‘I qualified as a personal trainer, which I still do on a part-time basis, and then, thanks to the freedom and security that my win afforded me, I started competing in the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation.’
Hannah won third place in Britain in 2018 in the Ultimate Athlete contest.
Recalling the moment she won, Hannah said: ‘I couldn’t believe it was happening. I looked at my TV and realised it was true.
‘I was with my best friend and we just sat on my bed in silence.’
Matt Evans, 44, from Barry, won £2.6 million in 2015:
The postman lived at home with his parents at the time of his win and bought his dad a posh new car with his winnings.
But then he indulged his love of sport.
He said: ‘I flew to America to watch baseball, American football and basketball.
‘I followed Cardiff City FC and Wales to all their matches, around the world – really random places like China, Georgia, Moldova and even the Ukraine.
‘When I bought a house, I had a full-sized football goal and a dug-out made so my friends and I could play football.’
Matt and his girlfriend, Hollie, had a baby boy in 2020 during lockdown.
Debbie Goolding, 51, Hampshire, won £1 million in 2020:
Debbie and her husband Joe have spent money on property – but also on some fairly ordinary items.
The winning scratchcard was lying in the bottom of her bag for a while until she checked it and realised she had come into serious money.
She said: ‘We bought some land, built our house – I did the interior – and upgraded our car to a Range Rover.
‘I still deliver for a catering company and one customer couldn’t believe I’d won the lottery. He said: You look so normal.’
The couple also bought iPads for the children, an eternity ring for Debbie, as well as some expensive boxer shorts for Joe.
Geraldine Bradley, 55, from Pembrey in Wales, won £3.6 million in 2006 in a share of a syndicate:
She lives with husband Christopher, 53, and continues to work.
She said: ‘I never wanted to give up my job as a hairdresser, so I still work two full days a week.’
The money has allowed the couple to indulge their passion for motorbikes.
For Geraldine’s 40th, she treated herself to a £7,000, 600cc Honda motorbike with a top speed of 156mph.
Now, every weekend she dons her motorbike leathers and goes riding.
Celeste Coles, 71, from Birmingham, won nearly £3.7 million in 2022:
But she always thought she would win big.
One of her daughters has Down’s syndrome, and one of Celeste’s first thoughts was that she could help secure her future.
Celeste has also bought an apartment in Spain and has sent money back to her family in Barbados so that they can upgrade their house and buy a car.
She said: ‘I’ve always loved travelling and since the win my sense of adventure has only increased, my favourite places so far have been Costa Rica, Aruba, the Greek islands, Miami and St Lucia.
‘I plan to visit North America next and I can’t wait.’
James Evans, 25, from Leicestershire, won £10,000 each month for 30 years in 2020:
The landscaper and block paver has used his skills in the industry to complement his main purchase – property.
He said: ‘I put down a deposit on a house, paid off the finance on my Renault Megane Sport, then a year later I bought a Jeep Compass.
‘I continued to invest in my new house, buying a hot tub and a gazebo, had the kitchen and bathroom redone, but to save money I did the painting, decorating and landscaping.’
James has passed his level one test to become a ski instructor.
He has also helped design and create a memorial garden for the charity, Canine Partners.
Kate Donaghey, 34, from Newcastle, won £1 million in 2018:
She now lives with husband Darren, 39, and their two children.
The win allowed the couple to move from their two-bedroom former council house to a five-bedroom house complete with gym.
Darren gave up work to look after the children, who are both autistic and who have really benefited from the extra time the pair can now give them.
Kate said: ‘The only other thing Darren had ever won before our National Lottery win was a ‘punching above your weight’ competition with the local radio station – and the prize was a honeymoon.
‘So, The National Lottery win was second time lucky for him…and for us.’
Jamie Heavens, 30, from Bournemouth, won £1 million on a scratchcard in 2016:
He lives in Bournemouth with wife Danielle and their two children.
At the time of his win, Jamie was 22 and engaged to his now-wife, and the couple had a baby boy who was just nine weeks old.
He said: ‘Since the win, I have started my own breakdown business which has since doubled in size, married Danielle in a dream £25,000 wedding and she launched a cake business with her twin sister.
‘I can step back from work a bit now.’
Jamie has since taken up fishing.
Joanne Jobson, 51, from Hartlepool, won £10,000 a month for 30 years, in February this year:
Joanne found a four-bedroom home just a month after her win and put in an offer immediately.
She also treated herself to a diamond ring in an antique shop – something she admits that she would never have done before her win.
And she has booked a trip to London with her two older sisters to see Abba Voyage and go up the Shard to celebrate her birthday.
The former care home worker said she continues to visit and have a cup of tea with some of the children she used to attend to.
She said: ‘They’re non-verbal but they recognise my voice.’
Sarah Cockings, 40, from Whitley Bay, won £3 million in 2005:
Sarah treated herself to a Swarovski diamond-studded watch immediately after winning.
But she also completed her studies, and paid for cosmetic surgery for herself and her sisters.
She said: ‘When I won, I was studying social care at Northumbria University and living at home. It was my mum’s dream to see me graduate, so I went back to university.’
Recalling her windfall – and the memorable purchases she made for her sister, Sarah said: ‘No matter how sensible I am with my winnings, I’ll always be known as the person who paid for her two sisters to have breast enlargements.
‘People still stop me in the street and say: ‘Are you the girl who bought her sisters the new boobs?’
‘In fact, my sisters had been to see a surgeon for a consultation the day before I won. It seemed natural to pay for their enhancements when the surgery was carried out three months later.’
Ray Wragg, 86, from Sheffield, won £7.5 million with his late wife Barbara in 2000, and was extremely philanthropic:
He retired as soon as his winning numbers came up, and the couple immediately started thinking about who they could help.
He said: ‘The morning after the numbers came up, I rang my boss to resign. When I told him I’d had a win, he said: ‘That reminds me, I need to check my ticket.’
‘I replied: “Don’t bother, Dave — I won the lot.”‘
The couple gave £5.5 million away to family and friends, hospitals and good causes.
They once paid £12,000 for war veterans to revisit the WWII battlefield of Monte Cassino and have also taken 250 local school children on an all expenses paid trip to see Disney on Ice, among many other things.
Barbara died in 2018. Ray has since found happiness again after meeting partner Anne on a cruise.
They have just jointly purchased a three-bedroom bungalow together.