The instant runaway success of the National Lottery took everyone by surprise – including the hosts.
Actor Gordon Kennedy, who was one of the presenters on the launch show on 19 November, 1994, says he had no idea it would change his life.
A whopping 25 million viewers tuned in to the hour-long special presented by the Scot, Noel Edmonds, and Anthea Turner.
Gordon went on to co-host the live draw with Anthea Turner for eight months.
The show went on the road, filming in a different town every week.
“No one realised how big the show would be. The first live show on the road in Wales was a bit of a shambles because we were completely overrun with people. Thousands turned up!” said Gordon.
“People were cheering so loud we couldn’t hear what we were saying.”
“The next week we were in Sheffield and about 6,500 people turned up at the shopping centre.
“It was like putting on a rock concert.”
At the time Gordon was relatively unknown but quickly became a household name.
“It’s funny looking back because I just stumbled into it, I actually turned down the job a couple of times,” he said.
Gordon recalled a moment while filming at Luton Airport that almost put the live draw in jeopardy.
“Just before one draw, the drawmaster from Camelot, who always stood by the machine, was walking over to us but banged his head on part of an airplane and was carted off to hospital.
“Luckily Camelot insisted they had a stand-in drawmaster, so we managed to quickly pull in a substitute.”
The West Lothian actor wasn’t immune from lottery fever as the production crew was encouraged to buy tickets.
But while filming in Huddersfield, he was probably the only person in the UK terrified to win the jackpot.
“It was my turn to read out the numbers and the first three were on my ticket! Before I read out the fourth number I had these visions of me being taken off to prison… my children crying.
“When the fourth one came out and it wasn’t mine I felt so relieved!
“If I’d won the jackpot it would be terrible! The whole integrity of the show would be questioned. I was the only person in the county that was terrified of winning.”
Gordon has starred in TV series Robin Hood and Sherlock, as well as T2 Trainspotting.
He’s now filming on the third series of Starz Tudor period drama, The Spanish Princess.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe