What happened to the UK's biggest lottery winners?

An unknown member of the pubic has come forward to stake a claim for the third biggest National Lottery jackpot of all time.

On Thursday, lottery operator Allwyn said the £177 million EuroMillions jackpot on Tuesday had been claimed by a UK ticket-holder.

The claim will now go through a validation process while the person decides whether or not to go public.

If successful, the win would mean the mystery person would be wealthier than former One Direction member Harry Styles and heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who are both worth £175m, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

The winning numbers were 07, 11, 25, 31 and 40, with Lucky Stars 09, 12.

The record EuroMillions jackpot of £195m was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder on 19 July 2022.

Tuesday’s winner is just behind Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, who scooped a then record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw on 10 May 2022.

But what happened to some of the previous big winners? Here, Yahoo News UK looks at the top 10 largest UK lottery winners – and what some of them did with their sudden fortunes…

Anonymous – £195,707,000

A UK ticket-holder scooped the record EuroMillions jackpot of £195m on 19 July 2022 – the biggest National Lottery win of all time.

Joe and Jess Thwaite – £184,262,899.10

Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, scooped a then record-breaking £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw on 10 May 2022.

At the time, Mr Thwaite was a communications sales engineer, and Mrs Thwaite ran a hairdressing salon with her sister.

Mrs Thwaite said at the time that the couple were planning a holiday to Hawaii, that their two children had always talked about.

She said: “The win gives us time to dream, which we haven’t had before. We’ve had one week to think about this and we now have time to share lots of experiences and go on adventures with our family and friends...

“Just to see their faces when we can make these things come true will be worth every penny.”

Mr Thwaite revealed he was working on the day of the draw and by 4pm he thought he “better buy a ticket” because he was aware of the jackpot.

He said: “Generally my luck is pretty terrible, to be honest with you.”

Mr Thwaite said that when he received an email telling him he won a prize he thought it was a lucky dip.

“Then I looked at the amount and I put the phone down. And I picked the phone up again, and I looked at the amount again. I first thought it was in the thousands,” he said, adding that he thought it was “life-changing”.

But then he “started counting the digits”, adding: “Amazing, but also surreal.”

Asked if there is one thing they have always dreamed of buying, Mrs Thwaite said: “We’re not really those materialistic people. If you saw our house you would know. I’ll probably buy a new car I’m sure, or something like that, but we haven’t got a huge… we’d love to go on a holiday family.”

Unclaimed ticket holder – £177m

Tuesday’s winner now ranks among super-rich celebrities like Harry Styles and Anthony Joshua. Both are estimated to have a wealth of £175m – £2m less than the latest EuroMillions winner.

Anonymous – £170,221,000

The fourth biggest winner of the National Lottery to date scooped £170m in October 2019, after matching all the numbers in a Must Be Won draw.

Colin and Chris Weir – £161,653,000

Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs, North Ayrshire, bagged their historic winnings in July 2011, making them the biggest UK winners at the time.

Mr Weir said shortly after their win that the couple, who have two children, had always “lived within our means” – but the money “brings about a whole new life”.

He said: “We now have so many new opportunities to explore but we won't rush it. For us, it will be a gradual change with choices to be made."

Explaining the moment they found out they had won, Mrs Weir added: “We had bought five Lucky Dips, as the jackpot was now so big. I started circling the numbers I had matched but wasn't doing very well. Then on the fifth line, all the circles seemed to join up. I had all of them but couldn't believe what I was seeing.”

She added: “We were tickled pink. I even had a glass of white wine, which is something I normally only do at Christmas. It really is unbelievable.”

Mr Weir used £2.5m of his fortune to invest in his beloved Partick Thistle Football Club, which led to one of the stands at the stadium being named after him.

He later acquired a 55% shareholding in the club, which was to be passed into the hands of the local community upon his death. He died in December 2019, aged 71.

The couple also set up the Weir Charitable Trust in 2013 and donated £1m to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. They divorced in the same year as Mr Weir’s death.

Adrian and Gillian Bayford – £148,656,000

Adrian and Gillian Bayford, of Haverhill, Suffolk, won €190m euros in a EuroMillions draw in August 2012, which came to just over £148m.

The couple, who have two children, told reporters at the time that they would share the money with people who had supported them.

Mr Bayford revealed that he had convinced his wife that they had both forgotten to buy a ticket when they watched the draw. But after checking the ticket he had bought, he went “a bit pale”, according to Mrs Baysford.

She said: “I checked the numbers on my phone, the TV, the internet – and we just looked at each other and giggled.”

The couple said they then spent the night on the internet deciding how to spend the money they had just won.

Mrs Baysford added: “I find it hard to take in the actual quantity of it. We have always worked and saved up for holidays or things that we need.

“We have lived within our means and been comfortable but we have been like ships in the night to earn the income we needed. It will be fantastic to spend more time as a family now.”

The couple bought a Grade II listed estate in Cambridgeshire, complete with cinema and billiards room, but it was sold in 2021, some years after the pair divorced, as reported by The Mirror.

Anonymous – £123,458,008

The seventh biggest National Lottery winner won a Superdraw rollover jackpot in June 2019, and decided not to go public with their success.

Anonymous – £122,550,350

After nine rollovers, one lucky anonymous ticket-holder bagged more than £122m in April 2021.

Anonymous – £121,328,187

Another of the UK’s top 10 lottery winners found their fortune through a Superdraw jackpot rollover, this time in April 2018.

Frances and Patrick Connolly – £114,969,775

Frances Connolly, a former social worker and teacher, said they hugged and had a cup of tea after winning nearly £115m on New Year’s Day in 2019.

The couple, from Moira, County Down, said they had written a list of 50 family and friends to share their good fortune with – none of whom have been told of their good fortune.

The parents of three daughters, said they celebrated their win in a low-key way.

Mrs Connolly said at the time: “We don’t really do excited – perhaps I raised my voice just a bit at the time when I found out – but we celebrated with a cup of tea and a hug.

“This is a massive sum of money and we want it to have a huge impact on the lives of other people we know and love as well as on our future too. This win gives us the chance to really make a difference for our family and friends.”

Mrs Connolly set up two charitable foundations following their win and estimates that she has already given away £60m to charitable causes, as well as friends and family.

She considers helping others to be an addiction, saying: “It gives you a buzz and it’s addictive. I’m addicted to it now.”