A NORTON Fitzwarren man pocketed £26,000 on TV’s Deal or No Deal yesterday – but his epic win was tinged with sadness just days before the show was broadcast.

Nagib Ghafar, 56, a maths teacher at Wiveliscombe’s Kingsmead Community School from 1983-90, promised host Noel Edmonds and the studio audience he would use the winnings to help care for his mother-in-law, Dolly Holdaway.

True to his word, Nagib, who was Dolly’s full time carer, bought a special car so he could take her out on trips shortly after the programme was filmed in November last year.

But Dolly, who suffered from dementia, died on Sunday at the age of 88.

“I bought a seven-seater car and we took her out in it a few times,” Nagib told the County Gazette.

“She died in my arms at home on Sunday – I’d like to thank the carers from Way Ahead for helping her.”

Nagib signed up for the show a year ago and went through a raft of interviews, checks and screen tests to make it to the studio in Bristol, where the filming took six days.

The Egyptian’s win came when he accepted the £26,000 from the mysterious ‘banker’, a lucky move with only £3,000 in his chosen box.

He added: “It was a fantastic experience. The game was very stressful and went so badly in the beginning. I tried prime numbers in the beginning but it was the luck of the draw.

“Noel was friendly and witty and was like a good teacher in the classroom, keeping us all under control.

Nagib says he will use the remaining winnings to take his whole family on holiday to Florida and is now hoping to apply for Channel Four’s Big Brother!