Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? winner raves about North East caravan holiday taken after scooping £1million prize

In an interview with ITV’s This Morning programme, Mr Fear, 57, said he and his wife Deb booked a last minute caravan holiday to Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, the day after filming the quiz show in July.

He told presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that the couple had planned to visit Spain and France but had been forced to cancel the trip due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said he spent the evening of his epic win packing for his drive up to the North East the following day.

"I have to say, the Northumberland coast...we’re happy we ended up there because I saw puffins, I saw seals, I saw cormorants,” he raved.

"It was absolutely magnificent. What a place that coast is - beautiful! The best kept secret in Britain in terms of coastline.”

The history and politics teacher from Telford, Shropshire, impressed viewers with his calm approach to scooping the million pound prize when his performance was televised on Friday. He became the show’s sixth winner, the first in 14 years.

He reached the final question in under 20 minutes having used just one of his four lifelines and said he knew the answer immediately. The question related to the death of pirate Blackbeard in 1718 - a subject he had covered with his Year 8 pupils in the past.

Despite Mr Fear’s modest claims that he was lucky that the right questions came up, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host, Jeremy Clarkson, claimed to be amazed at his encyclopaedic knowledge. He said it was like “sitting next to the internet in a pink shirt”.

Mr Fear had to keep the win secret from friends and family until the broadcast. He was greeted by cheers from staff and pupils when he arrived at school on Monday morning to teach his A-Level class.

He plans to buy a motorhome with his winnings and will retire in December, two years earlier than planned.

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