A former bricklayer from Cumnock, Ayrshire, who struck it rich with a £1 million win on a TV show hosted by Ant and Dec, now attributes his criminal downfall to the experience.

Nathan Hageman, 46, reflected on his 2011 victory on the show Red or Black?, describing it as “the worst thing that ever happened to me.” He claims the sudden wealth led to family and friends turning against him.

After his stint on the show, Hageman quickly depleted his fortune and then veered into a life of crime, involving theft and harassment.

Hageman accuses the TV program of being the catalyst for his criminal activities, alleging that acquaintances began to “blackmail” him once they learned of his windfall.

However, his brushes with the law were not new, as he had previously served a five-year prison sentence in 2006 for domestic abuse.

Despite his past, Hageman managed to compete on Red or Black? after his release, clinching the £1 million prize.

Hageman told the Daily Record: ‘Winning that show was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

‘There were so many stories published after it about me, but all the stories that were told were exaggerated or made up. I never got to tell my side of any of it or how any of it affected me.’

Nathan Hageman, 46, (Pictured in 2011) has blamed appearing on ITV show Red or Black? for his descent into criminality – despite already having a criminal record at the time

Hageman now has 16 convictions for 45 offences, most recently having threatened a friend who offered him work as a plasterer

He said he had been ‘blackmailed and threatened by people who knew me because they knew I had money’, claimed he was ‘blackmailed by an ex-partner’, and alleged his friends ‘ended up threatening and blackmailing myself and my mother.’

Since blowing his winnings on cars, holidays and luxury watches, Hageman has been in and out of prison, most recently being convicted for threatening a businessman who gave him a job.

His offending dates back as far as 2006, when he was convicted of aggravated burglary and assault occasioning actual bodily harm for an attack on his ex-girlfriend.

ITV were reportedly aware Hageman had a criminal record when he was invited on the show, but not that it related to domestic abuse.

In 2014, Hageman was jailed again for four months after harassing a woman in her 30s.

He bombarded his victim with 400 threatening messages in just 48 hours. 

In 2024, he was back behind bars after stealing a handbag from a nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, the town where he was living at the time.

He swiped the bag from her locker before using her car keys to take her vehicle along with an associate. Both men were arrested and jailed, with Hageman sent down for 12 weeks. 

Hageman previously won £1 million on the Ant and Dec show Red or Black? but squandered the winnings on a lavish lifestyle of fast cars and holidays

He had been sentenced to five years in prison for a domestic abuse-linked offence before his appearance on the show 

Following his release from prison he moved in with friend Jason Gallop, who offered him plastering work to help him get back on his feet.

But he was soon convicted once more for sending Mr Gallop threatening messages after failing to turn up to complete work. 

In voice messages to Mr Gallop, Hageman told him: ‘On my mother’s soul, I’m gonna finish you and you f****** know I’m capable.

‘You’re only mouthy because you’re a grass and already run to the police. Well they won’t stop me neither because they dunno what vehicle I’m in and they dunno when I’m coming.

‘They won’t find me. But I’m gonna get you, Jason, yeah. If I’ve gotta stab you up in front of them, so be it, but I’m gonna finish you, you f****** little scumbag, dwarf, bent-nosed little c***.

‘You ain’t gonna be saying that, you little f****** dwarf, when I cut your throat and your dog’s throat. Trust me. Watch. You think I’m joking you.’

He is due to be sentenced over the threats, which took place in July 2025, next month.

And weeks after sending the menacing messages, Hageman was outed as a dine-and-dash scammer after allegedly failing to pay bills at two restaurants he attended with a woman, to a total of £175.

He now has 16 convictions for a total of 45 offences.