It might be hard to believe, but Deal or No Deal is about to reach a pretty spectacular milestone - its 2500th show. The all-important anniversary episode will air at the end of the month, but to celebrate the joyous occasion some stats bods behind the show have released a whole bunch of pretty amazing facts. Read on for some surprising Deal or No Deal data...


1. The prize money total stands at over £37 million - that's more than any other daytime show in the history of British television.

2. On the other hand, Olly Murs's prize money total - after one pre-X Factor and one post-X Factor appearance - stands at a mind-blowing £10.50. (He is also the only person to play the game twice.)

3. If you fancy winning £250,000, best to have a single digit box. So far, the £250,000 has been hidden inside box 6, box 5, box 4, box 2, and twice in box 8. (I mean yes, it's all random so really this doesn't give you any clues but shhhh.)

4. 48 people have walked away with 1p.

5. 12 celebrities have played for charity and Louis Walsh did best, winning £70,000.

6. Lorraine Kelly, Robbie Williams and James Bond have also played the game - but they're just ordinary people with surprising names.

7. The oldest contestant to play Deal or No Deal was 97 years old.

8. Ignoring the fancy new Box 23, a total of 55,000 boxes have been opened on the show.

9. Olly Murs isn't the only contestant to later become famous - Naughty Boy (who was then Shahid Khan) used his winnings to set up a studio.

10. Four marriage proposals have taken place on the show (if you count an audience couple who got engaged).

11. Speaking of the audience - sorry, the Pilgrims - you could fill Wembley Arena twice with the number of people to enter the studios.

12. The total amount of money taken to the table is a stonking £64,575,423.69.

13. Two dogs, one owl, one pigeon and a bumble bee have been in the studio. We presume they were meant to be there.

14. Three sets of twins have played the game.

15. The youngest person to win £250,000 was Patrick 'Paddy' Roberts, who was 18 when he triumphed last year. He was also the first male victor; the second - and oldest £250,000-er - was Roop Singh, who was 54 when he smashed it in February.

16. The women who walked away with £250,000 were all in their 20s when they won - Laura Pearce (25 - the first victor), Alice Mundy (22), Suzanne Mullholland (23), Tegen Roberts (21) and Nong Skett (21).

17. A Reverend, Hindu priest, Sikh priest and Maasai warrior have all taken part in the game.

18. Over 150,000 minutes of Deal or No Deal have been recorded.

19. The first episode of Deal or No Deal aired on Monday, October 31, 2005.

The 2,500th show of Deal or No Deal will air on Channel 4 on Wednesday, April 30.