30 millionaires pose to mark 30 years of the National Lottery

The National Lottery is celebrating its 30th birthday with a photoshoot showcasing thirty millionaires across the UK.

Exactly 30 years ago on November 14, 1994, National Lottery tickets went on sale in the UK – and went on to create brand new millionaires.

Celebrity photographer Rankin, who has photographed icons from Queen Elizabeth II to the Rolling Stones, gathered 30 of the estimated 7,400 millionaires created since the first draw.

The line-up – who have won £194,465,555 between them – includes Lesley Higgins from Aberdeenshire and Gareth Bull from Mansfield, who won £57.9 million and £40.6 million on EuroMillions.

Major Lotto winners include Jackie King from Grimsby who won £14 million in 1998, Sarah Cockings from Whitley Bay who banked £3 million back in 2005, and Peter Congdon from Truro who won £13.5 million in 2015.

The winners travelled from far and wide to take part in the photo-shoot, from the Scottish Highlands and Northern Ireland to Cornwall and Newcastle; with ages spanning from 25 to 80 years old.

Rankin said: ‘They are normal people who have had an extraordinary thing happen to them, transforming their lives. That is what we set out to capture.’

Sarah Cockings, 40, won a £3,045,705 life-changing Lotto jackpot in 2005, and said: ‘After winning I finished my degree, bought my own home and now have four wonderful children.

‘Although people still remember me paying for boob jobs for my two sisters, and then having one myself! I’m still very close to my sisters – we all live just a few minutes from each other.’

Representing 2014 was EuroMillions winner Matt Myles from Herefordshire who at the age of 27, immediately quit his job and travelled around the world thanks to his £1,000,000 win.

He said: ‘It was a crazy year and I have the best memories. I picked up my winnings and flew straight to Bali, then on to Thailand, Brazil for the World Cup, which was unbelievable, then on to Ibiza on a mega holiday with 13 mates.

‘My life revolves round my family these days, we live in a beautiful, converted chapel and I run my own car business too. I still have my giant cheque – it hangs in the shed above my ride-on mower to remind me how lucky I am.’

The National Lottery has handed out more than £95 billion in prizes since 1994, with an additional £49 billion raised to support thousands of charities.

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