It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Terri who has an inherited condition and suffered a mini stroke in 2017. She was subsequently diagnosed with a “life-threatening” heart valve defect and required six hours of open-heart surgery to rectify it.

But three months after her operation, Terri was back on the dancefloor competing. She says ballroom dancing saved her life and keeps her young.

Terri said, “I love to keep myself fit and active, so it was a real shock when I suffered the stroke. The recovery was a long road, but I never gave up hope; I always remained positive and believed that good things would come into my life. And good things certainly did when I matched five main numbers and the Bonus Ball and won my £1MMillion Lotto prize with a Lucky Dip ticket!”

As a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing, Terri was accustomed to seeing dancers strutting their stuff at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. But she never imagined she’d get to follow in their footsteps.

Aaron Edgar, Operations Manager at The Blackpool Tower and Tower Ballroom, said, “It was just a delight to see Terri on the dancefloor – we were so thrilled to be able to grant her this very special wish. She is certainly one incredible lady. Who knows, we may even see her in Strictly!”

Recalling the moment she became a National Lottery millionaire, Terri said she and her husband John, 72, were on their way to a hardware shop in search of a new kitchen. On the way they stopped off for petrol and bought a ticket for the Lotto draw on 9th January 2021.

Terri said, “We always buy a Lucky Dip. I remember John saying to me, 'you never know, we might win,' to which I replied ‘Oh, you always say that!’. But we did win and today I feel like a double winner, standing on the iconic floor at The Tower Ballroom and hearing the sound of the world-famous Wurlitzer organ. When it comes to ballroom dancing, it doesn’t get better than Blackpool!”