Clyde 1 listener Joe scoops a whopping £725,000 on Make Me A Winner!
A former police officer from Colebridge spent an entire phone call refusing to believe he'd won £725,000 - convinced his workmates were playing an elaborate prank on him.
Last updated 16th Oct 2026
Joe from Colebridge received the life-changing call from presenter Gemma Atkinson on Friday teatime after entering Clyde 1's Make Me a Winner competition earlier in the week.
But rather than celebrating immediately, a stunned Joe was certain someone from work had set the whole thing up - and it was only when Gemma was able to tell him exactly when he'd entered the competition that he finally began to believe her.
“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 when Gemma told me the day and time that I'd entered that I started thinking, 'Hang on, this might actually be real.'"
In case you missed it, here is the winning moment when Joe got the call from Gemma
The following day, despite suddenly finding himself £725,000 richer, he headed into work as usual.
He explained: "I wanted the normality. Everyone at work has been absolutely lovely and they've all been congratulating me."
Joe retired from the police last November but quickly discovered that he wasn’t quite ready for the quieter pace of life. In February, he began a new job working in fire safety alongside friends and says he has no immediate intention of giving it up.
"I'll keep working for the next few years at least," he said. "I love working with my friends and the general routine of the day."
With three children - two grown-up sons and a 15-year-old daughter, Joe knows that securing their futures will be a priority.
"The kids haven't asked for anything," he said. "They know they'll be getting something, but we'll definitely be investing for their long-term future - we want to make sure they're sorted for life."
Before making any major decisions, however, Joe and his wife Lindsay plan to escape for a break together to give them the chance to properly process what's happened and decide what their new future might look like.
Joe also had a chat to the guys on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard as he is an amateur football referee and he even had a match the morning after winning all that cash!
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