During Thursday’s edition of , host welcomed player Wendy, who got the chance to open the iconic red boxes.
The retired contestant, who previously worked as a medical dispenser, had her fellow contestants in tears just minutes into the programme as she opened up about the loss of her husband, who sadly died three years ago.
She had brought her Koala teddy bears called Kiki and CoCo as lucky charms when she revealed it was a gift from her late husband when their daughter had travelled to Australia.
The show didn’t start well after the first box, which contained £75,000, was opened.
In the last minutes of the programme, Wendy still had three blues on the board, including a penny, 50p, and £500. She also had three reds remaining — £2,000, £3,000, and £50,000.
Wendy appeared on ITV’s Deal Or No Deal (Image: ITV)
In a tense moment, Wendy opted for box number one, which held £2,000.
The contestant then received a call from the banker, who offered her £6,170 as a cash prize in an attempt to sway Wendy from her own box, which was number 15.
Stephen asked her, “Is it a Deal or no Deal?”
A tearful Wendy accepted the offer on the table as they continued playing the game.
Stephen Mulhern revealed £50,000 was in Wendy’s box (Image: ITV)
She then received another surprise call from the banker and Stephen went on to explain that if she had continued to play and had not accepted the £6,000, the banker’s new offer would have been £14,345, as the £50k still remained on the board.
After another round, Wendy got rid of two more blues, 50p and £500, meaning that either the 1p or £50k was in her box.
The banker suddenly interrupted and revealed his new offer would have now been £27,800 to buy her box.
The tension was palpable as Stephen opened Wendy’s box in the final round, revealing she had £50k all along as she lost out on the eye-watering cash prize.
Viewers were left “gutted” following Wendy’s loss, as one tweeted: “#DealOrNoDeal – She was offered six thousand plus to tempt her out! My guess is the banker knew the value of her box!”
Another commented: “Damn it! So wanted her to win big, but £6k will get them a holiday together of some sort at least. I hope in time she finds happiness #DealOrNoDeal.”
A third wrote: “Why Wendy Why.The 15 meant so much to you. You were on Course … Why didn’t you hold Koala tight and stick it out. Gutted she didn’t win BIG #DealOrNoDeal.”
A fourth added: “Wee Wendy has my heart broke #DealOrNoDeal.”
Deal Or No Deal airs weekdays on ITV at 4pm