ITV game show Lingo awards record-breaking prize to Wittering contestants
A mother and son who spent lockdown watching a game show together have scooped its biggest ever prize.
Diane and Sam Jones appeared on the current series of ITV's Lingo, which is hosted by comedian Adil Ray.
It challenges competitors to guess a selection of words based only on their first letter.
The pair were delighted to take home the show's record-breaking prize of £11,000.
Sam said: "Mum and I were watching Lingo everyday and getting all the answers right, so we just decided to go for it."
Their written application was quickly snapped up and they were invited to a series of Zoom calls with the show's producers.
The episode was recorded in Manchester in March last year over the course of a few hours.
Sam said: "We were so nervous going into it, but mum and I were winning from the first round. It was probably a bit of luck but we were comfortably ahead for the whole show."
While they were watching at home, the biggest amount Diane and Sam had seen anyone win was £7,000 so they were delighted to break the show's record.
It was Diane who gave the winning answer in the final round, with just seven seconds to spare.
Although they won't receive the money until all of the current series has aired, Sam, 28, will put his share towards buying a house with his partner.
Diane, who splits her time between the family home in Wittering and a second home in Saudi Arabia where her husband works, plans to build a new porch.
Sam said: "The producers asked if we would be interested in going on anything else but we haven't applied yet. I'd love to do Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but that's mostly for the prize money!"
For now Sam, who works in marketing, is continuing his love of word games by playing Wordle online. He added: "I haven't got any wrong so far."
Watch their episode of Lingo on the ITV hub.
