A couple from Bristol have won the biggest prize of the series so far in a popular ITV1 gameshow, hosted by Ant and Dec.
In the fourth episode of the current series of Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win, which aired on Sunday, January 12, filmmaker Dan and textile artist Sarah climbed the ‘Limitless’ ladder, with an exact answer to a question about the length of a cotton wool bud, banking them a quarter of a million pounds.
Dan Caulfield, 37, and Sarah, 35, who are married with two children, chose to use their ‘Take Two’ lifeline to help them answer the question, which asked: “To the nearest centimetre, what is the length of a Johnson’s Baby Cotton Bud?” The ‘Take Two’ lifeline allows contestants to come up with their own answer and then for Ant and Dec to suggest another, with the guess closest to the correct number without going over counting as the final answer.
Dan and Sarah locked in their answer of five, giving Ant and Dec thirty seconds to come up with their answer. The presenters deliberated before reaching their decision of eight – which turned out to be an exact answer, banking the lucky couple £250,000.
Sarah, who is neurodivergent, says: “Having loved Ant and Dec my whole life – as soon as I saw the advert for contestants, I was hooked! It felt like a mad idea, but I dragged Dan along with me.
“I’m ADHD and autistic which gives me a lot of creativity and alternative problem solving. Whenever we play at home, Dan always goes under to be safe and I’m like, let’s get an exact answer!”
Dan adds: “Sarah is definitely the opportunity taker and I’m a risk manager, so we’re a good balance for each other. Our main strategy on Limitless Win was to listen to each other and try to have fun”.
On their huge win, and who they shared the news with first, Sarah went on to say: “The whole thing was super surreal, and took a really long time to sink in… I’m not sure it’s even sunk in yet! We’d never really thought about or entertained the idea that we could win that big – so it was a complete shock.
“We told our kids and Dan’s parents (who had been babysitting whilst we filmed the show) – it was a complete shock and surprise to them as well. There were plenty of happy tears from parents, and plans for getting ducks from the kids.”
‘Ant & Duck’
When asked on the show what they would spend their money on, Dan revealed: “Definitely some ducks”, with Sarah adding they’ll name them “Ant and Dec”. Dec then joked: “Or Ant and Duck, right” with Ant adding, “Yeah and you gotta have one slightly taller than the other one”.
Sarah, who runs Bristol based company ‘We Are Hairy People‘ and creates and sells bespoke hand-painted clothing, tells BristolLive that it’s not all about ducks, however, with the family planning on purchasing their first family home with their winnings. She says: “We have lots of neurodiversity in our household, and creating a safe space is going to be so valuable for our wellbeing.
“Our son will finally be able to have ducks, called Ant & Dec of course, and I’ll build an art studio in the garden so I can grow my work again (We Are Hairy People), including running art therapy workshops, and neurodivergent-centred work in our community.
“I feel like meeting Ant and Dec has brought my life full circle. They brighten up my life across everything they do – so I’ve tried to do the same for others, and now we’ve got to meet them and have got funds to move our lives forward”.
You can catch up on the latest episode on ITVX and continue the series on Saturday, January 18, 8.30pm and Sunday, January 19, 8.00pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.