Express & Star

Transgender cabbie was in ‘absolute shock’ after £4 million scratchcard win

A recording has been released of Melissa Ede reporting her post-Christmas windfall.

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Taxi driver Melissa Ede, 57, celebrating during a photocall at Willerby Manor Hotel in Hull after her £4m Scratchcard win on New Year’s Day (John Giles/PA)

A transgender taxi driver told a National Lottery phone operator she was shaking and in “absolute shock”, minutes after scooping £4 million on a scratchcard.

A recording of the call Melissa Ede made to confirm her win has been released by the National Lottery.

She said she had become “Mel the millionaire” following the win, just days after her partner, Rachel Nason, asked to marry her with a Christmas proposal.

In the recording, Miss Ede says to the operator: “Hi there. I’ve just bought a £10 scratchcard and won £4 million.”

And she asks woman on the other end of the phone line: “It’s real, isn’t it?”

The operator replies: “Yeah, I can see it. Yes.”

Miss Ede says: “I’m in absolute shock, I’m shaking”

When the operator then asks her if she’s OK to stay on the line so she can gather some details, Miss Ede jokes: “I don’t have to worry about my phone bill now, do I?

She has also appeared on programmes like The Jeremy Kyle Show.

She said the win and her engagement had made Christmas special for the first time in her life.

Miss Ede explained how she had the transition operation seven years ago and now wants to write a book about her “extraordinary life”.

She described how she had £20 when she went to a garage in Hull to buy fuel for her taxi and had to decide whether to buy the scratchcard or cigarettes.

She said that after realising she had won: “I got back out of my car, I ran into the garage, I just went, ‘Oh my god you will not believe this, you’ve just handed me £4 million’.”

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