Deal Or No Deal star's fundraising page hits £100,000 after terminal diagnosis
Deal Or No Deal viewers have helped contestant Brad Wale achieve over £100,000 in donations after his health story brought them to tears.
Brad was featured on a recent episode of ITV’s revived game show and moved viewers and fellow contestants to tears as he explained he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. The contestant, who is from Shropshire, explained that his life was shattered by the diagnosis after doctors warned he could have as little as two years left to live.
Motor Neurone Disease is an incurable degenerative disease that affects cells in the brain which gradually shut down – affecting speech and movement and ultimately leading to death. Brad shared his story to host Stephen Mulhern and said he hoped to win money for his bucket list and his family.
However, he won just £5 on the show – leaving the live studio audience and viewers at home devastated. Fellow contestant Rochelle Hughes started a GoFundMe page with a target of £20,000 to help raise money for his bucket list. Within a few days, the fundraiser had surpassed £40,000.
And now, on Thursday morning, the page surpassed £105,000 in donations from almost 6,000 people. A few anonymous people donated a whopping £1,000 to the contestant. The donations have surpassed the maximum prize on Deal Or No Deal in its current ITV format.
Kevin Sinfield goes extra mile for MND sufferers as he brings hope to Rob BurrowOn Wednesday, Rochelle took to the fundraising page to thank fans for their support. She said: "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. You have changed Brads 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." Many fans took to the comment section of the page to share messages of support.
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."