A retired IT analyst from the outskirts of Stockport has become one of the rare few to win the top prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Roman Dubowski, after winning the jackpot on the ITV game show, said he never expected to take home the top prize. 

"I was thinking a five-figure sum, not £1 million," he said. 

Dubowski worked as an IT analyst for 34 years. He first applied to the show during the Chris Tarrant era but did not hear back. In 2022, he tried again, reached the audition stage, but was dropped just before filming. 

He decided to give it "one more go" and this time made it all the way through, and how. 

"When I got through this time, I was genuinely gobsmacked. Just getting onto the show felt like an achievement in itself," he said. 

His journey to the million wasn't without drama, too. He used his lifelines early on after overthinking some less challenging questions. 

He was asked what is mixed with vinegar, mustard and oil to make basic mayonnaise. The options were plain flour, salted butter, egg yolk and double cream. 

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"I thought I knew the answer, but then started overthinking it.  

"I felt it was better to be safe early on," he said.  

He chose to ask the audience and wondered if he "might go and walk away with nothing" at that stage. 

Dubowski, who does quizzing as a hobby, said he relied on his sister as his 'Phone a Friend'. 

He admitted some subjects worried him more than others, including pop culture, cooking, fashion and gardening, while he felt more confident with geography, history and science. 

However, by the time the £1 million question appeared, his confidence returned. The final question asked about a trademarked logo in a painting by Édouard Manet. Dubowski recognised it from a previous visit to the Courtauld Gallery. That memory, along with his knowledge of the Bass beer logo, helped him choose the correct answer.  

He used a 50:50 lifeline to confirm his choice before Jeremy Clarkson announced he was a millionaire. 

"He (Clarkson) was friendly and gave some very useful advice before the show, especially about how to use the lifelines. 

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"He confirmed what I already thought about the 50:50 lifeline, that it's really only useful when you already know one or two of the answers are wrong," Dubowski shared about the show host.  

After months of keeping the win secret, Dubowski plans to use the prize money for a new home, having lived in the same place for over 30 years. He also has bucket-list travel plans to the North Island, America, Brazil and Peru to fulfil. 

"It's life-changing, but I hope it's not personality-changing," he said on winning the prize money.  

"I'll still have the same friends, and I'll still do the same things, but perhaps with one or two more holidays". 

The mega quiz game show, which Dubowski referred to as "the Rolls-Royce of quiz shows", returned on ITV on Sunday, 26 April. 

Dubowski becomes only the seventh person to win the million-pound prize on the show, and the first since 2020.