RTVEIf you’ve never daydreamed about what you’d do if you won the lottery, you’re either already a very rich individual or you’re lying.
There’s no two ways about it. If you have had that daydream, I’d put money on the fact quitting your job would be number one on your list of things to do immediately after collecting your winnings.
One woman didn’t even wait that long though, announcing she was leaving her job as a reporter live on air when finding out her numbers had come up. There was just one small problem though… she thought she’d won a lot more than she actually had.
You can watch the moment she celebrates a little too early below:
News reporter Natalia Escudero excitedly told her colleagues she was ‘not coming to work tomorrow’, thinking she had won the €4m (£3.4m) top prize.
Escudero, a journalist for Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE, started screaming as she reported on the winning numbers for the country’s Christmas lottery. ‘I’m not going tomorrow, Natalia doesn’t work tomorrow,’ she told her colleagues as she celebrated.
However, it soon emerged that instead of winning the lottery’s top prize, known as El Gordo (The Fat One), Natalia had actually won a fraction of the money – just €5,000. So not quite enough to quit her job.
RTVEWhich, as I’m sure you can imagine, was more than slightly awkward for all involved. She later apologised to viewers who ‘felt cheated’ by her reaction, after some people criticised her for giving the impression that she had won the jackpot.
In a series of tweets, Escudero later apologised to her followers, writing (translated to English):
The last [few] months [have been] difficult for me for personal reasons, and for the first time the goddess fortune had smiled at me with a pinch. I have been infected by the joy of the rest of the graces, but I have not lied or manipulated.
In my 25 years of career as a journalist I have always been with my head high and a clear conscience for my rigorous and proven work. It is sad that Natalia Escudero is today the manipulative and liar journalist of RTVE.
She said she had not meant to mislead viewers and maintained she would not be going into work after her win as she plans to celebrate her good fortune and go on holiday.
Así que de nuevo pedir disculpas por esta confusión hoy emitida y aclarada en directo en el programa LA MAÑANA …y mantengo que mañana no voy a trabajar, primero por que voy a celebrar ese apetitoso pellizco y voy tengo vacaciones
— natalia escudero (@nataliescudero1) December 22, 2019
The top prize in the Spanish Christmas lottery can be shared, as each €200 ticket is a perforated tear-apart sheet that can be split into 10 identical sub-tickets, which cost €20 each, hence why the reporter’s cash prize had to be shared.
Ah well, regardless of the embarrassment, at least Natalia can treat herself to a nice Christmas break.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).