A reality show competition winner who cheated her opponent out of a big money prize is living the life of Riley while her one-time co-star has been left struggling. Fans of daytime quizzes might recall that ITV used to air a high stakes game show called Golden Balls - which was on the air from 2007 until 2009. Contestants battled their way through the show in the hope of winning a big cash prize. But in a vicious twist, contestants were also able to steal the money for themselves - and viewers were stunned 17 years ago when a contestant named Sarah Mooney opted to take money from fellow contestant Stephen Bushnall. To add insult to financial injury, Stephen has since become an internet meme - as his humiliating defeat is often shared online showing the moment he lost out on the jackpot.

Now it has been revealed that the two contestants are living very different lives as Sarah was able to utilise her winnings to propel her life towards comfort. But Stephen has recently shared that he has been struggling to make ends meet. The Daily Mail reported that the pay out gave Sarah a chance to change her life. She was just 22-years-old when she appeared on the show alongside Stephen, with Sarah choosing to take all the money.

It appears that Sarah has used her gameshow winnings to purchase a huge £250,000 five bedroom home in the Lancashire countryside. The property is said to be nearby the famous landmark, Pendle Hill. Stephen said in an interview last year: “£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.

“It would have been amazing. It would have sorted out a lot of problems and I played the game fairly. And right now I am £20,000 in debt through owed money and credit card bills. The cost of living crisis has been very tough. But, if I had my chance again, I would still pick to share the money. That is the sort of person I am and always will be.” He went on to slam the decision of other players for choosing to steal the prize instead of split it, arguing it was a cruel rule and not something he would do himself.

Golden Balls aired between 2007 and 2009 and was presented by comedian Jasper Carrott - and produced six seasons and 323 episodes over that reasonably short period of time. Game play showed contestants being handed a selection of balls that contain cash prizes ranging from £10 to £75,000. The first round of the game would see four contestants face off - and some of the balls handed out would contain ‘killer’ messages which would knock them out of the contest if they opened a ball to find this inside. The players would look inside their ball and then choose to tell the truth about them or lie - and the other contestants had to figure out who was lying and try to avoid any ‘killer’ balls that were win the mix.

Once one contestant is knocked out, the game advanced to a second round where the same game of wits and deception continues, but with more balls. Once the second player is knocked out, the remaining two then combine the value of their money balls which is then up for grabs. In a final round, the two players can chose to split the prize or steal it. The show was criticised at the time of airing with psychologists claiming it encouraged people to be deceptive. There series struggled to find an audience, however, pulling in between one and two million viewers and it was ultimately axed after two and a half years.