Delivery driver who quit job after lottery win spreads joy at former workplace

Gary MacDonald, 61, delivered parcels to stores across Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex, for more than 30 years before his win last year.

He quit his job after his win, married his long-term partner Anita and has moved from Barking, east London, to settle into a new four-bedroom detached home in Essex.

He said he had made a promise to himself to head back to his old place of work, and has now done so with a hamper of goodies.

“It’s been a crazy 12 months, from discovering I’d won a £5.2m Lotto jackpot and starring in the Lotto TV ad, to getting married and moving house,” he said.

“It’s a good job I retired early – being a Lotto millionaire is turning out to be a full-time occupation!

“That said, I’m delighted to come out of retirement for the day to fulfil the promise I made myself.

“It’s been great surprising my old colleagues, their faces have been a picture. I think we’ve done a brilliant job of surprising them and spreading the joy with today’s deliveries.”

Donna Samuels, manager of the Babyeze shop at Lakeside, said it was an “incredible surprise” to see Mr MacDonald again.

“He absolutely didn’t need to do this, but I’m so touched that he has,” she said.

“Then again, Gary sharing the joy is typical of him, just goes to show what a diamond he is.

“For as long as I can remember, Gary was here every day, rain or shine, with a joke and a smile, so when he suddenly wasn’t there one day last year, I worried there was something wrong.

“I was over the moon when I discovered the real reason, winning on the National Lottery honestly couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap.”

Mr MacDonald said that in his previous job as a delivery driver, his alarm would go off at 5.30am each day.

“I’ve always taken great pride in doing a job well and that’s what I did all those years at Lakeside, but what really made it was the many people I’d see daily,” he said.

“With a friendly wave, a few words, or on a rare occasion a cup of tea, we built connections, so when I hit the Lotto jackpot those people who had been such a part of my daily working life were always in my plans.

“It’s taken a while to get back here, but looking at the happy faces and the laughter, it’s been worth the wait.

“The only problem, my fabulous wife Anita has used the opportunity for a little bit of a shopping spree!”

Mr MacDonald previously said that his first purchase after his lottery win was a Shark vacuum cleaner.