The winner of the Win a House in Sandbanks competition has finally spoken out, after months of attempts by the media to identify him. Due to low ticket sales, he was awarded a cash prize of £41k instead of the £1 million home originally up for grabs. His identity had remained a secret until now, despite carrying out the draw in December 2009.

So far, Vivid Construction Ltd, the organisers of the competition, had claimed they couldn't reveal any more details about the winner to protect their privacy. However, with many players asking for more information and pressure from local newspapers, it seems they managed to convince the winner to finally come forward.

The winner is television worker Chris Worthington, 34, from north west London. He was picked at random by computer at the office of the solicitors for the competition, Horsey, Lightly, Fynn on 18 December 2009.

Despite extending it from the end of May to 31 July 2009, the competition closed with ticket sales well short of the 52,000 target. The draw was postponed further due to discussions with the Gambling Commission, which concluded towards the end of last year.

It seems there was some confusion over whether Mr Worthington was willing to be identified or not. The organisers had previously indicated they wanted to respect his wish to remain anonymous:

“They asked if I wanted a picture and I said I didn’t want to do that. That’s just common sense. If you’ve won lots of money, you don’t want your picture everywhere,” he said in his interview in the Bournemouth Echo.

According to the interview, Vivid are helping Mr Worthington find his first property.

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About time!

I think the organisers should have been forced to disclose the winner's identity right away. We don't need a photo but it shows accountability so anyone can check if there is any connection between them.

Frustrated , 24 Jun 2010

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