On the occasions when Box 23 has a good result and the contestant is celebrating
with players on the wings the show ends without Noel asking the contestant
what the money means to them as used to be the case before the introduction of
Box 23. Personally that is something I miss. Does anyone else feel the same?

Must admit I do like it when Noel asks the player what the money will do for them, as it actually puts the money in a context, rather than it just being a number in a game. It's often too easy to forget that DOND has a 'human-interest' side, which is probably one of the reasons it's lasted as long as it has.

Nothing to do with their "Dreams and ambitions" which Noel mentions earlier in the game, then?

I'd ponder that the 'human interest' aspect of the show is the sole reason for its continued success, rather than just one of a collection of things - when I think of DoND in the kind of context BankerSpanker or MarkBot might want it to be, that is to say the routine opening of boxes and offers and so on, I lose a lot of that initial interest very quickly.

The element of real tension, and just that knowledge that the way this game pans out could literally alter the course of the player's life, for wildly better or significantly worse...that is probably what keeps me reading the commentaries today.

It's similar to when sports stars are interviewed before
their match. They say they want to win (not surprisingly) but it's nice
to see the emotions come out when they speak when they are interviewed
after a victory.

Yes I have noticed that. As soon as Noel opens Box 23, the credits roll and that's it.
Up until the end of 2013, Noel has always asked the players what the money means to them.

They need to bring back the viewer's competition with the blue boxes to ensure every show has a proper ending!

Oh no haha!