Deal Or No Deal's Brad to reach huge milestone as donations double overnight

07 December 2023 , 08:45

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Deal Or No Deal's Brad Wale's story - how much he needs to win and why he turned down huge prize (Image: ITV Screen Grab)

A Deal Or No Deal contestant is on track to receive a whopping £100,000 jackpot as a fundraiser set up for him doubled in donations overnight.

The contestant, Brad Wale, had the audience in tears when he shared his battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) with host Stephen Mulhern. Despite entering the show with hopes of winning money for his bucket list as well as his family, 29-year-old Brad left with only £5 after rejecting an offer of £12,500 to gamble for £75,000.

Rochelle Hughes, a fellow contestant on the show, recently announced she had set up a fundraiser to help Brad raise the funds he needed, initially aiming for £20,000. By Wednesday, the fundraiser had surpassed £40,000, and by the next afternoon, it had reached £86,000.

In a Wednesday night update on the GoFundMe page, Rochelle, who spent two weeks with Brad while filming the show, expressed her gratitude to those who donated: "I didn't think that I would be updating so many of you. I just want to say a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are all incredible."

Brad said the donations 'mean the world' to him (ITV)

She continued: "You have changed Brad's life and I will never be able to say thank you enough. We are wishing you all a very merry Christmas and happy healthy new year. You have done an amazing thing for Brad and you should all be so proud of yourselves for your kindness."

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Nearly 4,000 kind-hearted viewers have donated money, with some giving as much as £1,000 to the GoFundMe page named "Help Brad get his bucket list", which is on track to smash the £100,000 target - the maximum prize on Deal Or No Deal in its current ITV format.

Alongside the donations, Brad has received hundreds of supportive messages. One kind-hearted person shared: "You really are an inspiration and I really hope you get to do everything you ever dreamed of, sending good luck with everything, stay strong."

Another person called him an inspiration and added in a lovely post: "You're such an inspiration. If there was one person who deserved to win big on DOND it was you. I've donated and really hope you get to do all the things on your bucket list."

Speaking about the astonishing level of support and donations he has received from fans, he told Good Morning Britain viewers: "Rochelle set the target. I just thought a few friends and family members would donate but from last Thursday the response I have had is something I could never put into words. I'm going to get upset now. "

He added: "From the bottom of my heart it means the world and I can never be able to say thank you enough. Friday I received a few thousand messages, Saturday, Sunday, it's just been thousands and thousands and thousands of messages. Each individual message and each individual donation means the absolute world to me, you'll never understand how much it's changed my life."

The fundraising page for Brad can be found on GoFundMe.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Zara Woodcock