Who says fortune favours the brave?
Once again a brave player goes home unrewarded bar her memories of the experience.
Players like Corinne come along once in a blue moon, I seriously doubt we'll see another £250k winner for a long time.

Maybe Corinne is really Wakey in disguise? Seriously this show can be so divisive at times. On the one hand if you dealt too early you've got some people berating you for not being couragous or for playing a boring game, just cause they THINK they would play on in that same situation when believe me, when you get there and Noel is repeating the amount back, I bet 75% of them would so called "bottle it" as well. You're there for you and your situation not necassarily to give the armchair gamblers somthing to blog about longer than ten minutes.

Corrinne on the other hand is being berated for being greedy, when in fact she was just playing HER game. I wouldn't have played the way she did, but she looked like a women with no regrets at the end and she should be applauded for that.

Anyway, whatever way you look at it she played one of the best games the show has ever seen. And thank God the 250K stayed in so long as what kind of game would that have been then if it hadn't since her one target had gone?

That was an incredible game. Certainly the best I've ever seen anyway.

It's just a shame she wasn't left with a red at the end along with the 250k, so at least she could take some sort of prize home. It's incredible how it all turned out.

Noel looked close to tears at times!

Wow. I wasn't expecting a powerhouse of a game like that from inoffensive little Corinne on an inoffensive little Monday afternoon. Her attitude to money and grace under pressure were both refreshing and inspiring.

You wouldn't want the contestant to be that calm every game (nerves and emotion make for good TV), but when they are it's amazing to watch.

Argh! If only the gamble had paid off.

Ermm.... is there no such thing as second hand Bentleys I wonder? I feel sad for Corrinne, I met her and she is a wonderful woman with grace and dignity and that came shining through in her show, but I can't relate to someone turning down £88,000. That is life changing money for anyone and her family must be gutted too.

£88k can buy you one hell of a lot of car. She must be sorely regretting it now. Genuinely gutted for her even though I knew the outcome in advance.

I just think she was caught up in the whole 'theme' of the game which was to get the £250k and I am wondering how much intervention there was from the wings (if there was any it was edited out). I know people influenced me heavily in my game. And Corrinne could have used a reality check, in my opinion.

Saying that though maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, but I really feel for her tonight.

I've always wanted to see an older person win the 250,000, and i thought today it was going to happen. I admire the way she took it and my mum said shes the sort of lady thats an inspiration to just go for everything while you have the chance.

She will always be remembered for the game she played.

I hope she somehow does manage to get a Bently.

You say that, but can you imagine how horrible it would have been if she'd swapped away the £250,000? Obviously winning 1p after turning down £88,000 was horrible enough, but swapping for the 1p would have been too much to bear IMO.

I don't think Corinne deserves all the berating she's gotten. Yes, 99.9% of people would have dealt, but she took it extremely well (she scarcely seemed upset at all), and I'd imagine that she'd probably have felt worse if she'd dealt and then found out that she could've had her dream fulfilled all along.

At last a contestant who can outwakey Wakey!

Corinne seemed to know exactly what she was doing, and she certainly provided the most exciting finish to any show even though it didn't work out.

It's good to have contestants like this that come along and are prepared to take that level of gamble to inject fresh energy into the show. I can't help wondering if the two brave 50K wins influenced her, but I have this feeling she would have gone for it anyway!

The extremely generous 31K offer at 5 box would have seen me deal, and to be honest I would have even contemplated Old Faithful at 8 box.

It does remind me a little of an episode of The Vicar of Dibley with a scene involving a similar 2 box DOND scenario , a no deal and disastrous result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmZ0TY0mrs4

In fairness though Corinne's decision seemed to be premidated, so you have to respect her for her courage.

Right, one-post recap. I actually watched it this time, so no complaints that I didn't.

Corinne ticks all boxes. Odd system? Check. Delusionary optimism? Check. That's why she's here! She looks just about old enough to be a don't-care-gambler a lá Joe. Incidentally, that's one for the product placement file there.

Nasty opener, but she's shrugging it off because the jackpot box is there. The producer is going to give her serious offers as he does believe she might really be that reckless; ten grand isn't far short of dealable on that board, would you believe. 'Unprecedented?' Doubt it, I'd fancy there's been more generous in early 2007.

Now, how much do 'straight 8' Bentleys really cost? All-blue makes this look a lot better, good chance of a £20k-odd win for the average player here. £15k at this point is again unusually generous, and Corinne is speeding away, with Noel doing absolutely nothing to stop her.

A bit more dangerous after that round, and Corinne's a bit pedantic about the material she's got in her hand. Which rapidly leads into desperate innuendo. Noel is wildly talking this up; One Rock is by no means unprecedented on this board and I don't even think it would take me out. Was that a brief reality check? Only a very brief one. Noel didn't thank her for that one, which is a clear indicator; he is dead excited though.

Ten grand, we can take. Corinne is fiscally careful, charity shopper, not a splurger, she's only got one dream. "Money isn't everything" says Noel, which of course in this case is used to justify not caring at all about losing it. Dangerous? Right, a break. How much for a Bentley? Jennifer's winnings get you a 2006 12-cylinder Continental, new models all cost between £120k and £250k, so if this really is all she's interested in, we have an utterly bizarre utility function that actually spikes up in a territory where most will level off almost completely.

Right, we're back. Oh I forgot it's a classic car in which case the prices could be anything. No, Noel, she isn't necessarily going to win the £250k, there's an 89% chance it's on the wings. OK make that 87.5%, my point stands. The Banker concedes he might as well not be here, so he's just here to fill in with offers other people can consider. Starting with the recurring motif of £26,000, which wouldn't quite be enough for me. Corinne's not interested in the offers.

Hang on, a thought just hit me. On day one of the Copenhagen summit we're meant to root for a player with a dream of buying a massively polluting car? I'm on safer grouind to point out she's six boxes away from the game end, not seven, when we're at seven-box. £35,000 goes, a blow for anyone with a normal utility function, but not much of one. £75,000, that be damaging. "I'm certain it's in there, and I hope I'm right." 80% chance you're wrong. Regular offer would have been £13,000, which I'd turn down; the gasp-inducing offer is the inverse, £31,000, which I'd take. The tipping point there (adjustable by Banker guarantee on the £250k-high finish) is probably about twenty grand, and no I am not a targetist. REALITY CHECK FROM NOEL! Missed the exact quote, but it was beautiful, especially from him. I've not seen him actually shaking his head at a gamble since 2007.

"If you don't reach for the dream, you never get it." The audience and Noel approve of that, even in this context. Every box, I'm willing to see the jackpot, because I don't want this setting an example to the nation - Corinne's dream means nothing to me anyway. Not in the first one... there we go, Noel gets it right by saying at four-box we're three away... hushed tones and desperate filling for time... nope, that's the orange... Noel mentions Alice, tempting fate perhaps... Corinne says 22 hasn't killed games lately, anyone with evidence either way?... Alice finish it is!

Now what? Apparently the dream was to leave the 1p. "You are a masochist of the most enormous proportions." We have someone who literally couldn't give a monkey's about the money. Noel says this might be the nightmare for some; for me, it's closer to the dream, but it's all about what the offer is for me. I'd want the Banker to just throw in something massive to end it. That, folks, is that something massive. And hushed silence. Noel gives us a massive, yet jestful, reality check; actually, let's not call it that. It was a remark to put this in perspective for the home viewers. £88,000 is enough for the car in kit form, so that has got to be more than halfway up her utility curve, surely. Oh she's 74. We fill in for time in comedy style. Long, long pause. Oh good grief she actually meant it.

Demonstrably an irrational decision in light of the reveal from earlier. It's the first time someone has rejected all offers with the £250k in play since, erm, Laura (Alice, of course, dealt at eight-box). Oh the swap is an actual decision. 19 means something to her. "I think things happen for a reason," so that's a No Swap then.

25 1p winners up to this point. Reminder no men have won the top prize. "The stats mean nothing. Nothing at all." And utter shock fills the audience at the Big Reveal. Noel has no words, Corinne does. It would've been so much easier if she'd just taken it out earlier. She goes away with a pendant, and Noel's ringing praise for dismissing the value of money ringing in her ears.

A second post, discussing the fallout from this game, is coming later, after I watch Miljoenenjacht, where the stakes are so high that chasing a Bentley makes you a mildly aggressive targetist. I've read the comments, and they will be accounted for. An extraordinary game demands an extraordinary response.

Well, I knew this was coming, if the rumours were true, and they were for the two £50k wins last week so didn't have any reason to doubt them...

First contestant since Laura nearly three years ago, I guess nearly 1000 shows ago, to go to the end with the £250k in play without a Banker's Gamble. I remember the other three clearly - Laura, slow starting game and crap offer at the end. Kirsty, amazing board and less than generous offers considering. Morris, now he was the only one to compare in terms of being absolutely determined to win the big one, of course he failed at the last hurdle as well but at least had £20k to fall back on. It's remarkable we've gone so long without another one like that - of course, only one in 11 such players will actually keep the quarter million in play until the final stage.

Will Corinne regret turning down £88k (and of course making the loss of £87,999.99 which eclipses Morris's record of £81k)? Who knows. But the show needs contestants like that to drag it out of the sameness that has been the story of the last couple of years. Too many contestants happy with a holiday and an easy £15k... I know I'm starting to sound like the Wakey Army here but we don't need crazy gamblers every week, a couple of times a year would do! Didn't watch much over the summer but surely the first truly ground-breaking show in gameplay terms since Alice, and in well over 1000 of them that takes some doing.

An extraordinary game, and I do pick my moments to be in the audience don't I?

A few things to pick up from this game, and what others have said:

1- There was plenty of wing intervention, from what I recall. They were trying, oh yes, they were trying, but I think they knew, the longer it went on, the more pointless it was. Corrine knew her own mind. That's right......

2- ........Corrine DID know her own mind. I did not come out of the studio thinking that Corrine has some dealing plan that Noel steered her away from. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, Noel's first reaction at the £88,000 rejection was not one of "Oh YES!" but of "Oh, Dear God!!!" I think even he knew he couldn't change it, one way or the other.

3- There were many things edited out of this game, but the length of time Corrine took between Noel's "The offer's X" and Corrine's rejection was not one of them. Watch it back in the first four rounds, and it is almost as live!

4- Killersbee is probably going over the top (Hmmm, never happened before has it?!) in saying 21 11 box deals are coming up, However, I won't say what does come up soon as I'm also in the audience for tomorrow's, Wednesday's, next monday's and next Tuesday's games. The only thing I'll say is this; caution may or may not have infected the 21 standing on the wings during that morning in June when I watched this game live, but only 5 more games after today were recorded before the taping season finished for 4 months. So maybe, it was out of their system fairly quickly. However, I couldn't say for certain. You would have to ask them.

You know I actually do think she'd have regretted it more if she'd dealt, even for £88,000, when she could have had the £250k. If she couldn't have taken losing it and winning 1p than she'd have dealt! And I supoose no Bentley having tried is better to her than no Bentley and not trying!

At the end of the day, it was her money (or potential money) and she can do what she wants as long as she was live with the consequences of it going wrong, and I'm certain she could. I never thought anyone would be able to handle turning down as much money as that to win a blue so well, but we all view money differently - if it had been me I'd be regretting it for the rest of my life!

However if there's any criticism I have for Corinne, it was that I felt she was taking an incomplete view of the game, in that she was so obsessed with the Bentley that only the £250k would get her it, that she seemed oblivious to how good the earlier offers were, though she did respect them. I know none of the earlier offers would have got her the bentley, but I don't think she really considered properly what £88k, or the earlier £31k, £26k etc would do for her - yes no bentley, but loads of other great stuff! I guess it was the flip side of the same coin of really cautious deals like Ronnie's - they only think of either the values on the board, or the values on offer, and not both at the same time.

Ironically she could well have dealt a less-generous offer and avoided the 1p club if she'd picked Dan's box earlier!

Terrible result but I'd prefer to see people win 1p like this than depressing games like Aurora's where the player just never has a chance and the banker just laughs about it all the time!

Wow, just a couple of times a year I'm reminded why I LOVE this show, today was one of those days! Corrine deserves a lot of credit for having the bottle (some would say blind stupidity and worse) to turn down 88K, think I would have dealt at 31k, the fame and pomp and it being a little bit too much money too quickly would have influenced me, I'd be quite happy with a nice sum and a great experience of course!

Anyway, an awesome game, I'll never forget that one, she's a proper legend, we won't see a game like that for a LONG time mark my words, whatever your viewpoint of the player!

Understatement of the year from KP.

That has to be one of the most memorable games of all time. My jaw was hanging from the shock of her declining such an enormous amount of money on a coinflip. I know that when she declined £31,000, that to make it worthwhile, she'd have to decline a great offer later to justify playing on. That she even could face a finish, even embrace it, is a testament to her determination and tenacity at reaching her dream, literally at any cost.

Fair play to the produ... I mean, Banker, for making good offers throughout. The atmosphere in the studio must have been overwhelming, to have been so close to winning the top prize, and missing it by one box. I'm sure there was a lot missed in the edit, as there wouldn't have been time to show it all, but what can you say when there's a person who wants to have something so much, regardless of the risk?

Also stunned that that final two could be married to a player who could not be stopped. There have been players in other countries who have done similar with higher stakes, in a crazed frenzy or highly excitable, and won big. But this is the first time I've seen someone attempt it down to just belief alone. That is incredible.

And what will the legacy be? Who will be able to face a blue/QM final two, when the Banker could either become cautious from the risk from losing such a large amount of money, or rampant at pursuing the limits of what someone could take with low offers?

I did have a peek at the spoilers section a month ago, and instantly regretted it, reading there would be a string of high wins, though I didn't know that this would happen. But even with a Facebook spoiler that "Car mad Corinne made the bravest no deal ever!", I was still amazed at what happened next. Very large reaction from social networking sites about this game, too.

What Corinne must have been going through after the show, to have won just 1p, I can only imagine. But if she took it as well as she did on the show itself, then I'll be even more impressed with how she held herself.

One of the most memorable games, even though the result was unfortunate. I don't think we'll ever see a player like Corinne on the show, to have been completely genuine in her conviction, and to have had the opportunity to follow-through.

Well, at least Noel's 'we've never seen anything like this before' hyperbole wasn't misplaced for once. Corinne clearly knew her own mind, was totally prepared for whatever might happen, and as such she did precisely the right thing for her. There's a difference between frittering away £88,000 of money that you've worked hard for and saved up or having a punt with £88,000 of money that you've never had before and wouldn't really know what to do with anyway. So anybody criticising Corinne for the way she played is being -- if I may be so bold as to say so -- a churlish buffoon.


I also immediately thought of Doreen at 5-box today, and was seriously expecting a £50k offer for Corinne at that stage too. (And she probably wouldn't have taken it, even if that's what had been offered.) Overall though, I think the Banker (producers) did well today in making the offers suitable for the player.


Probability-wise, you're saying that the 50% chance it was on the wings is somehow greater than the 50% chance it was in her own box? That's because the boxes don't have memories? Forgive me, but I'm a little confused by that...

Unfortunately I'd seen the spoiler about today's game so I broke my habit of watching the full game on More 4 to watch the end on C4+1 when I got home and have just watched the rest of the game to get a sense of context on 4OD.

What do you say about Corinne?

Brave - absolutely.
Foolhardy - of course.
Influenced by others - with no one with her in the audience and even Noel preaching dealing today - not on all.

I think the only way this game could have been worse is had we had had the second player to swap the £250k away from the table in less than a week but watching it, you have to admire Corinne's determination even if I cannot admire her decision making process.

Right, three hours and one entertaining episode of Miljoenenjacht after watching Corinne's single-minded chase, I can recap this.

Firstly, thank you to the source of the spoiler (heard through MSN, actually). I didn't want a heart attack now; my nearest A&E is at Basildon Hospital. You know, the one that's the subject of national attention. Thank you so, so much for giving me a heads-up, or I could have been a victim of an incompetent NHS, and that's worse than any No Deal.

Secondly, I've read the comments, and have taken them into account.

I've said it a fair few times before and I'll say it again, I am far more worried about the viewers being influenced than I am about the contestants being influenced. There's quite a lot more viewers for a start, and some of them are under 18 and more impressionable. What impressions they could take from this game, I can't even begin to imagine, but I cannot praise Noel enough for the reality check at five-box.

Wokoman, you were there, you know what really happened. Sounds as though Corinne really did have that one-dimensional a viewpoint of the game, and was utterly impervious to any influence. Or, to put it this way; let's assume (and I know I'm making an incorrect assumption here, but bear with me) that her actual tipping point was £75,000 and she was talked into an £88,000 No Deal. That still makes her a big gambler, of the kind who'd regret selling the jackpot regardless of the consolation prize. From what she said, she had essentially zero regard for money below that which would fulfil her dreams - she literally didn't care for a more comfortable life. I hope she still thinks that in a few years' time - with rising energy bills and so on, I just fear she will spend the end of her life thinking back to this... although on this evidence, that seems wildly unlikely!

She was basically a blind targetist, like a lot of players on this show - but with a target almost equivalent to the jackpot, which meant in this context she was a mad gambler! On Miljoenenjacht that same target would imply moderate play...
(below is a Miljoenenjacht spoiler)


Additionally, I've seen worse (skip to 7:50). Much worse. (And don't even get me started on the US version.) Internationally speaking, this barely registers on a Most Questionable Gambles list.

Just one last point - I do hope Endemol actually gave Corinne a 1p piece and not a cheque for her prize money.

KP - ironic you picked a clip from the Dutch version with a €88k offer.

Ok, I've just been looking at the stats to today's game, which now don't make pretty reading:

1. The sum of all Corinne's offers today was a mind-boggling £190,000 (that's an average of £31,666, maybe that was the problem )

2. Offers as % of FD: 1. 127% 2. 136% 3. 166% 4. 151% 5. 228% 6. 141%

3. Perhaps most astonishing though is that she was offered 70% of the mean on that finish (and not only that, she turned it down!)

4. I don't think anyone's turned down all five-figure offers to win a penny before, maybe not even a blue, although I'm willing to be corrected on that.

5. My, has it really been 838 shows since someone played right to the end with £250,000 in play? (and what a spectacular way to break the run!)

Having read all that, I can't believe what happened today, but it was a fantastic game that true DOND fans will never forget!

Well between the Continuity announcer's hyperbole at the start and the speedy arrival of the first and second break i could see a big finish was coming up there. And for a while i thought we might even see confetti

I can't say I'd want every contestant to be like Corinne and I'm not really a fan of the play till the end whatever happens mentality but there's no doubting Corinne knew her own mind. She wanted enough money to buy her dream car and the only way she could possibly do that was by winning the £250k. In that respect you have to admire her fortitude in the face of some really chunky offers from the Banker, it was a real battle of wills.

I hate to say it because i know it sounds curlish but part of me is actually relieved she didn't win the £250k. I did feel a little sorry for her as well though, truth be told i'm not sure which way i wanted that one to go.

Given that there was no real chance of her winning the £250k (as she wasn't a swapper) it's almost a shame she didn't find the £250k earlier in the game. I wonder if under those circumstances she would have dealt? Or if she would have continued as she was doing - perhaps in the hope of getting that 1p pendant.