Retired police officer wins £725k in radio station competition

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

Joe Todd, a 56-year-old retired Coatbridge police officer, won £725,000 in Clyde 1's Make Me a Winner competition after entering earlier in the week. He received the life-changing news in a phone call from presenter Gemma Atkinson on Friday teatime.

Todd initially dismissed the call as a prank orchestrated by work colleagues. He said: 'I just thought there was no way it was happening. I was waiting for someone from work to come on the call and start laughing.' It was only when Atkinson told him the exact day and time he had entered that he began to believe her. 'It was when Gemma told me the day and time that I'd entered that I started thinking, Hang on, this might actually be real,' Todd said.

Todd's wife Lindsay was absent from the immediate celebrations, being more than 1,500 miles away in Alicante for an early celebration of her 50th birthday with friends. He later shared the news with his two sons, aged 26 and 22, and his best friend, with whom he sat down over non-alcoholic beer to process the win. Todd found processing the news difficult, waking in the middle of the night with his mind racing.

How it is being reported

• Retired Coatbridge cop scoops £725k in Clyde 1's Make Me a WinnerJoe Todd, 56, originally thought his work colleagues were pranking him when he was told he'd won.Glasgow Live · 14 Oct, 11:22
• Ex-police officer wins staggering £725k after thinking phone call was a prankRetired Coatbridge police officer Joe Todd wins £725,000 in Clyde 1’s Make Me a Winner competition, plans to keep working and secure his family’s future.Glasgow Times · 14 Oct, 10:44

In this story: Joe Todd · Lindsay Todd · Clyde 1 · Gemma Atkinson · Coatbridge · Alicante

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