Ally McCoist helps Scottish nurse to win £82,000 on gameshow

Ally McCoist helped an oncology nurse from Edinburgh to win the jackpot with the final question on TV gameshow The Wheel.

The Rangers and Scotland legend featured in the BBC programme, hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre, on Saturday.

He was one of six experts on the wheel, including former Labour minister Ed Balls, Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite and presenter Dan Walker.

McCoist’s specialist subject was Scottish football, though ultimately finished last in the table of experts for correct answers.

Contestant Helen, a Scottish nurse who works in oncology, found herself spun in for the final question with £82,000 to be won.

She selected McCoist to help her with the question, which ended up being on the topic of ‘Lost Civilizations’.

The question asked: “The ancient city of Troy, the site of the legendary Trojan War, is located in which modern-day country?”

Four options for the answer were Egypt, Greece, Iraq and Turkey.

Although Helen initially believed the answer was Egypt, McCoist said that he was leaning towards Turkey, leading her to lock it in as an answer.

In a dramatic ending to the show, host McIntyre declared Turkey to be the correct answer.

Contestant Helen was left in tears at the win and embraced McCoist in celebration.

She told viewers that the money would go towards celebrating the life of her grandmother, who passed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Unfortunately we lost my grandma last year and because it was Covid we couldn’t have a proper send off that she deserved,” Helen explained.

“I’ve got family over in Canada who we’ve not seen since she passed away so I would love to take my mum over to Canada to see our family over there and celebrate her the way that she deserved.

“It’s been such a tough couple of years, my sister is a doctor as well, working through Covid for the both of us, then losing my gran, to be able to finally have a break and celebrate is just… thank you so much.”