Blackpool lottery winner stars in photoshoot to celebrate 30 years of the National Lottery in the UK

To celebrate 30 years since National Lottery tickets first went on sale in the UK, on 14th November 1994, a landmark photoshoot of 30 National Lottery millionaires from the last three decades was held this week.

Flying the flag for the North West was Natalie Cunliffe, from Blackpool, who won £1M on a National Lottery Scratchcard in February 2016, along with her now husband Andrew.

Natalie said: “Winning The National Lottery has totally changed our lives – and the lives of those around us too. It has also bought us time to support charities which are close to our hearts. Without the win we would never have been able to do all we can today.

“Andrew popped the question as soon as he won, and we had our dream wedding in Cyprus the following year. It has been a whirlwind – but one incredible whirlwind!”

Renowned photographer Rankin, who has photographed a host of iconic figures including HRH Queen Elizabeth II and The Rolling Stones, gathered the 30 extraordinary individuals, worth more than £190M, at his London studio.

The results are intimate individual portraits of the winners, smaller group shots and a historic shot of all 30 National Lottery winners together – representing just a fraction of the 7,400 millionaires created since the first draw.

Rankin, said: “I am extremely lucky that I get to meet and work with extraordinary people, from famous actors and models through to NHS nurses. I remember when The National Lottery first started and it was intriguing to meet the real winners and hear their stories and experiences. They are normal people who have had an extraordinary thing happen to them, transforming their lives. That is what we set out to capture.”

Since the first draw on 19 November 1994, The National Lottery has created more than 7,400 millionaires and paid out more than £95 billion in prizes. It’s not just the lives of individuals that have changed, a massive £49 billion has been raised helping support thousands of projects and charities, transforming communities across the UK.

The 7,400 lucky millionaires are located in villages, towns and cities in every corner of the UK. The heavily populated South East of England has broken the four-figure barrier and now boasts 1,071 National Lottery millionaires. This is followed by 886 in London and 878 in the North West of England. Scotland has seen a stunning 692 new millionaires made across the last 30 years, Wales 408 and Northern Ireland 195.

Kathy Garrett, Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operators of The National Lottery, who has herself paid over a billion pounds in prizes to lucky players over the years, said: “The National Lottery has been changing lives, helping communities and supporting charities for 30 years. On average seven millionaires are created every week across our games and Natalie along with the other winners in the shoot represent just a tiny fraction of the lucky players who have won incredible sums of money over the years.”