A mystery ticket holder has come forward to claim a Lotto jackpot worth more than £5.8 million, ending weeks of uncertainty over whether one of the summer’s biggest prizes would ever be collected.
The winning ticket was bought in the London Borough of Lewisham for the Lotto draw on 26 September, and matched all six main numbers to secure a payout of £5,844,340.
The winning numbers were 22, 27, 38, 42, 47 and 59, with Bonus Ball 31.
Allwyn, which operates The National Lottery, confirmed the claim on Monday, and said the holder had now stepped forward after the prize sat unclaimed since the draw.
Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, said: “We’re delighted that the winner has now come forward to claim this incredible £5.8M Lotto jackpot prize.”
“There is always huge excitement when a major prize remains unclaimed, but the best outcome is seeing the money reach the person who won it,” he added.
“Now begins the exciting part as they start to think about what’s next!”
“We look forward to supporting the winner through the process and helping make dreams become a reality.”
What happens next for the winner
Coming forward is only the first step. The claim will now go through validation, as happens with all major prizes, with checks to confirm that the Games Rules and Terms and Conditions have been followed and to protect the integrity of The National Lottery.
Subject to validation, the prize will be paid at an appointment with an Allwyn Winners’ Adviser. Only then will the ticketholder decide whether to go public and share the news.
No information will be released about whether the winner is an individual or a syndicate, or about where the ticket was bought, unless the winner chooses to go public. That means, for now, the identity of south-east London’s newest multimillionaire remains a mystery — and the prize itself has not yet been paid, only claimed.
The announcement will no doubt set off a round of speculation among Lewisham residents, but anyone hoping for a name will have to wait for the winner’s own decision.
A Bromley prize still waiting
While the Lewisham jackpot has now been claimed, another big-money lottery prize bought nearby remains unclaimed — and its clock is still ticking.
A EuroMillions ticket bought in the London Borough of Bromley for the 25 September draw is worth £256,117 after matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star. The winning numbers were 11, 12, 15, 38 and 49, with Lucky Stars 10 and 12.
The mystery Bromley ticket holder has until 24 March 2027 to come forward and claim the prize. Bromley passengers have had plenty else to think about this half-term week, but anyone who bought a EuroMillions ticket in the borough in late September may now want to check an old ticket.
Unclaimed prizes are eventually redirected to Good Causes if nobody comes forward by the deadline, so the Bromley holder still has time — but the Lewisham story shows that even a jackpot worth millions can sit unclaimed for weeks before its owner steps forward.
A week of new millionaires
The Lewisham claim caps a remarkable run for Lotto. The game has made seven new millionaires in the past week, with one winner for each day, including a £4.8 million jackpot winner in the 21 October draw.
The total number of Lotto millionaires created this year now stands at 148.
Playing any National Lottery game also contributes to projects across the UK. Each week, players help generate around £33 million for National Lottery-funded projects, and more than £53 billion has been raised for Good Causes since launch, helping fund hundreds of projects in every postcode area across the UK.
For Lewisham, the latest win adds another chapter to the borough’s lottery story — community projects across London continue to benefit from the funding that ticket sales generate, whether or not the winners themselves ever go public.
And for the one person holding the Lewisham ticket, the weeks of waiting are over. The validation process will run its course, the appointment will be made, and then — if they wish — the capital will finally learn who its newest multimillionaire is.
Elsewhere in south-east London, Bexley has been named joint-cheapest borough for homebuyers — though a £5.8 million windfall would rather change that particular calculation.
