Golden Balls star in 'most ruthless steal ever' still in debt years after show

One of the most controversial moments in TV game show history has left one contestant in debt more than a decade after the show aired. Stephen Bushnall was competing on 's Golden Balls back in 2008, which saw contestants accumulate golden spheres with money inside, along with 'Killer' balls that took money out of the prize pot.

Whatever they were left with in the final head-to-head round, both players could either agree to split between them, or pick 'steal'. If both chose steal, neither would win any money, but if only one chose steal and the other chose to split, the thief would walk away with the entire prize pot.

When Stephen squared up against his rival Sarah on the episode of the show, £100,150 was at stake. The star, now 51, was deceived by his co-star who stole the money from under his nose - and more than 16 years later he's still consumed by debt.

Speaking in December 2023, Stephen explained: "£50,000 at the time would have changed my life. I was in a lot of debt then and I still am now. Like a lot of people, I am struggling. Life is tough. I was absolutely devastated when it happened. I was in a state of pure shock and broke down in tears."

He recalled to Daily Star that he heard one audience member shout at Sarah: "You f***ing b**ch, I hope you f***ing die in hell," before he was whisked off the stage. He added that Sarah has never tried to contact him after the show - but he was taken out for a commiseration meal by host Jasper Carrott and the rest of the ITV team.

Stephen added: "All the way during the night, I kept asking, 'How is Sarah? Is she okay, is she upset?' and Jasper kept saying, 'Why are you bothered about her?' But I can't change who I am. I just kept asking, 'Does she have people around her, is she being looked after?'

"At the end of the day, she played the game. I went with nothing and I left with nothing, but now she has to live with that decision. She's the one who is going to get the grief, and in that moment all I could think was, 'She's going to get hounded for this, and is she okay?'"