ITV1
Howard Walmsley’s lottery lie began with a pair of shoes costing £8. Out shopping, his wife Cathy worried they couldn’t afford the shoes she really wanted. Instead of taking the sensible option, Howard told Cathy a little white lie – he’d won “a few quid” on the National Lottery, so she could splash out on the shoes she wanted after all.
But Howard – struggling to make ends meet as a painter and decorator and with debt-collectors at the door - didn’t know when to stop and before long he was telling friends the “little win” was £8,904,558.
The news that Howard’s numbers had come up spread like wildfire through the Doncaster estate where he and Cathy lived. Not wanting to appear tight fisted, he bought drinks for his friends, took them out to dinner, and soon realised that he’d better start buying things for himself if he didn’t want to be rumbled.
The Lottery Liar is the story of Howard’s incredible spending sprees – ordering three luxury Jaguars in one day, a new house, a swimming pool, luxury holidays, a celebration party for over 60 family and friends, promises of £150,000 cheques for all his friends, and the pledge of a tractor for a village in Africa.
Howard’s lie lasted for nine months before he was finally rumbled. When the police questioned him over debts from his previous business, Howard’s jackpot fantasy finally started to unravel. A lie about an £8 pair of shoes led him into an £8m nightmare that eventually saw Howard spend three years in prison for fraud.