A Lincolnshire dad has raised thousands for a charity close to his heart after appearing on ITV’s Deal or No Deal. Craig Paterson, who worked as an RAF paramedic at Cranwell, filmed season two back in July 2024 in Maidstone, with his episode airing last month, in November 2024.
Craig, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when he was just 39 years old in 2020, felt going on the show would be a great way to raise awareness of the illness in younger people and also help raise some money for the charity. The dad from Leasingham left the show £18,700 richer after his big win and he has donated a portion of this to charity.
The 42-year-old said: “I made a promise that I would finish my classic Mini off that I have had for 26 or 27 years. I vowed to use some of the money to finish that off and also to donate some to Cure Parkinson’s.”
Craig was featured in the 12th episode of the second season. During the show, host Stephen Mulhern said to Craig: “You said at the top of the show about you suffer with Parkinson’s, if you don’t mind me asking, how do you know it’s coming on?”
Craig with his daughters and his classic Mini
(Image: Craig Paterson)
The paramedic replied: “I first noticed when I was sending emails in work that my left hand doesn’t seem to be working as well as it used to sending emails, and then I started losing my voice a bit, and started getting a bit weaker. You’ll notice I’m quite monotone, that’s another symptom.
“Obviously being a paramedic I was aware of what the symptoms were of Parkinson’s so off I went to the neurologist at 39 and got diagnosed.” He went on to share how he hopes to donate some of his winnings to Cure Parkinson’s, a charity he described “amazing”.
Craig on the show
(Image: ITV)
Craig has been working with the RAF for almost three decades and is continuing to work as an NHS paramedic out of the Boston Station. However, Craig was almost on our screens last year. He said: “I was on season one last year but I didn’t get to play, so I was in the wings. That was filmed July last year and then it aired in November.
“In July 2024 they filmed season two. It was amazing, absolutely amazing. It was one of the best things I have ever done, it was a great experience.”
He explained that he applied for the game show after seeing that they were remaking the beloved series. He added: “I saw an advert saying they were remaking Deal or No Deal and I have always been a fan of it, I used to watch it as a kid with Noel Edmonds.
Craig and his crew mate Shaun Leachy who supported him on the show from the audience
(Image: Craig Paterson)
“The application process was six months, it was worse than applying for a job. You had to go interviews and auditions and workshops in the studio.” However, as the show went on it became more nerve-wracking for viewers, and ultimately Craig decided to take the banker’s offer of £18,700.
When faced with the banker’s offer, Craig said: “Thank you Mr Banker, I’m not a greedy person, deal.” The audience then fell silent as Stephen opened the remaining boxes and as the jackpot box opened everyone went crazy as Craig had beaten the banker.
Following his time on the show, Craig set up a JustGiving page which raised £1,500 for the charity and as promised the Lincolnshire dad matched the donations sending the total to £3,000 on Christmas Day.
The fundraising page will remain open until the end of January.