It could be you: Lottery bosses hunt missing millionaire as clock ticks down to claim deadline

Published: 05:38 EDT, 29 October 2026 | Updated: 06:14 EDT, 29 October 2026 National Lottery chiefs are searching for a missing winner who has not yet claimed a £1million jackpot.The owner of a ticket claiming the prize was bought in Greater Manchester.But they have not yet come forward to get their money and a deadline has been set for midnight on December 28.Andy Carter, from the lottery's operating firm Allwyn, said: 'The winning ticket could be tucked away somewhere completely ordinary while its owner has absolutely no idea they are a millionaire.'We'd love to find the person we've been looking for and turn this search into a celebration.'So, if you bought a ticket in the area, dig it out, check those numbers and help us find Tameside's missing millionaire. It could be you.' The winning numbers were 5, 8, 26, 33, 39, 42, with the Bonus Ball being 54.Meanwhile, a lucky player won £2.8million and two others scooped £1million each in Wednesday’s Lotto draw, with Saturday’s jackpot an estimated £2million. The mystery winner of a £1million National Lottery jackpot has been urged to get in touchOne player matched all six main numbers to bag the jackpot, while two players matched five of the six numbers along with the bonus ball to win £1million.A mystery National Lottery winner missed out on a £10.6million jackpot after failing to come forward earlier this year.The winner did not make themselves known within the 180-day deadline to claim their prize and as a result lost the £10.6million prize.National Lottery did do an 'extensive search' for the winning ticket holder but said no valid claim had been made by the cut-off in April.The money was instead donated to charities supported by the National Lottery.The jackpot ticket was tracked down to have been bought in Bexley, south-east London, on October 4, 2025.A similar search was launched for someone who bought a winning ticket in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area for the EuroMillions draw on November 4 last year.Jamie and Danielle Heavens, previous National Lottery champions, supported the hunt, as they posed with a large mock-up of the unclaimed ticket on a Princess Y72 yacht in Poole. Former National Lottery winners Jamie and Danielle Heavens led the search to find a missing ticket holder who was previously running out of time to claim a £1million jackpotMr Heavens won £1million on the lottery aged 22 while he was working as a roofer.He used the seven-figure sum to splash out on a new car, pay for a wedding to childhood sweetheart Danielle and start his own business.Last summer, similar panic arose after the biggest-ever EuroMillions jackpot of £208million remained unclaimed in the aftermath of the win.But eventually, the jackpot winner, from Ireland, came forward – after purchasing the ticket from a retail outlet in County Cork.This historic Irish win surpassed the previous EuroMillions record of £195million, which was won by a UK ticket-holder in July 2022.Winners of the National Lottery have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize.If the money is not claimed, it is transferred to the National Lottery's Good Causes fund.The largest unclaimed prize was from the EuroMillions draw on June 8, 2012.A ticket worth £63,837,543.60 was bought by a player in the area of Stevenage and Hitchin, Hertfordshire, but never claimed.