DEAL Or No Deal fans were up in arms after a huge show blunder saw one contestant lose a whopping £100K.
Viewers of Stephen Mulhern‘s ITV series told how they were “gutted” for contestant Sonia who went against her gut ahead of the final stage.
The red-head, who arrived on set in a black top adorned with glittering silver sequins, was convinced she had the £100K in her box through the game.
Yet earlier in the episode, in a moment of weakness, she had accepted the banker’s offer for £22,670.
Stephen told her that only six times in Deal Or No Deal‘s history had the main player held the £100K box.
Yet as he opened hers – with the £5,000 box the only other left on the table – Sonia realised she’d missed out on the top show prize.
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Stephen was quick to offer reassurance and told her: “Sonia, you have been brilliant by the way, you really have.”
Clearly taken aback by the turn of events, she said: “Aw man.”
Stephen then added: “It’s quite unbelievable, you knew you had it.”
Fans were also quick to share in her sorrow.
One wrote on X: “Wow! Sonia played an incredible game…
“But she went against her gut feeling!!”
Another posted: “Omg Sonia! I knew it! I said she got it! Bloody gutted for her.”
One then mused: “Sonia Was Right All Along. She Did Have A 100K In Her Box.”
A fan then wrote: “OH NO!!!! Sonia, you could have been covered in confetti! ARGH!!! The £100k was right in front of her.”
A viewer surmised: “Sonia had the £100k all along! Ouch!”
SHOW SUCCESS
Last year, we exclusively reported how the re-booted show – which was previously shown on Channel 4 – had been recommissioned.
The new iteration of Deal or No Deal launched in November 2023, with Stephen at the helm.
The original series, fronted by Noel Edmonds, ran on Channel 4 for 11 years until 2016.
Yet viewers have previously accused ITV of “killing” the beloved show after spotting a major change.
They noticed how the prize money up for grabs has been slashed by a whopping £150k, with the eye-watering original £250,000 top prize axed.
One fan said: “The bulk of the offers seem to be around £1-3K max. They’ve lost a lot of the real jeopardy in it.”
