Who is Euromillions winner Adrian Bayford? Ex-postman who won £148m with lottery ticket

ADRIAN and Gillian Bayford won a mouth-watering 148.6million on Euromillions after 14 jackpot rollovers back in 2012.

The windfall means they are the fourth biggest lottery winners ever in the UK. Here's everything you need to know about Adrian.

Who is Adrian Bayford?

Adrian Bayford, 54, is a former postman who became one of the UK's biggest lottery winners along with his then-wife Gillian — they scooped a staggering £148 million EuroMillions jackpot in August 2012.

This life-changing win catapulted the couple from Haverhill, Suffolk, into the ranks of Britain's wealthiest individuals, placing them 516th on the Sunday Times Rich List at the time.

Before his big win, Adrian co-owned Suffolk Music Centre in Haverhill.

On the night of the draw, he said he initially convinced his wife that they had both forgotten to buy a ticket when they watched it on TV, with Gillian saying he went “a bit pale”.

She added: “I checked the numbers on my phone, the TV, the internet — and we just looked at each other and giggled.”

They celebrated their mega win by ordering Domino's pizza.

The couple, who had been married for eight years at the time, then spent sleepless nights planning how to spend their newfound fortune.

“Supposed to make everyone happy”

However, Adrian and his wife divorced just 15 months after their win, with Gillian later saying the money had come between her and her family.

Speaking to Flying Eze in 2016, she said: “It's upsetting and raw. The money was supposed to make everybody happy. But it's made them demanding and greedy.

“[My family] have lost touch with where they've come from.”;

Following the split, Adrian's personal life has been marked by a series of engagements.

He has proposed four times since winning the lottery, with his most recent engagement to ambulance worker Tracey Biles, 45, coming around Christmas 2023.

His other three fiancées were sausage factory worker Marta Jarosz, stable girl Samantha Burbridge, and Frankie & Benny's waitress Lisa Kemp.

Business ventures

Adrian's life as a multi-millionaire has been characterised by various business ventures and property investments.

The money was supposed to make everybody happy

Gillian Bayford

He purchased a Grade II listed estate, Horseheath Lodge, in Cambridgeshire for £6.5million, complete with luxurious amenities.

In 2020, he bought two estates in Scotland — he paid £1.1million for one in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, and days later splashed out 1.35million on another plush pad just 12 miles away.

Adrian's entrepreneurial spirit has led him to explore various business opportunities on his estates.

He has previously run a record shop, a pub, and even organised a music festival dubbed a ‘mini Glastonbury' on his Cambridge Estate since 2017.

But in 2023 the event was axed at the last minute because the council didn't grant a licence.

There had been reports from disgruntled neighbours about the noise levels.

In 2023, he began renting out a cottage on his property as an Airbnb for £110 a night, and the following year began renting out a farmhouse on the 189-acre estate for extra cash.

Adrian planted grape vines in 2024, aiming to produce sparkling wine. His vineyard is roughly the size of six football pitches.

In 2025, Bayford made headlines with his plans to build a children's theme park on about 20 acres of his estate.

It would have seen six of his farm buildings torn down, a 90-space car park, a maze and train ride.

In planning documents, Adrian said he was “seeking to create a highly regarded and well-known leisure destination which provides a fun, exciting and educational day out.”

But his ideas have been squashed by the council after it was ruled the attraction would be too “urban” for the countryside location, leading Adrian to withdraw these plans.

Sustainable living

Adrian has shown a commitment to sustainable living on his estate.

Together with his fiancée Tracey Biles, he has been growing his own food in a new kitchen garden, as well as creating a large carp pond and raising goats and pigs.

He has also had plans approved to add solar panels to one of the barns on his estate, demonstrating an interest in renewable energy.