'Spend, spend, spend': Anniversary of Castleford couple's famous Pools win and Viv Nicholson vow
Say the words “spend, spend, spend” and people across Yorkshire know exactly who coined them.
It is 65 years today since Viv Nicholson and her husband Keith won more than £152,000 – the equivalent of £3.5m today – on The Pools in 1961.
Mrs Nicholson was a 25-year-old Castleford factory girl when she and her pit trainee other half – who predicted eight First Division football matches – won the money and she made that famous vow.
The reported full amount they won was £152,300, 18 shillings and eight pence and Mrs Nicholson later said: “Back then, even the eight pence meant something.”
She later told The Yorkshire Post the couple could barely afford to go to the pub to celebrate.
They were so hard up that she reportedly had to put cardboard in her shoes for the trip to London to collect their cheque from Bruce Forsyth.
When she was asked what she would do with the cash, Mrs Nicholson said her famous phrase: “I’m going to spend, spend, spend.”
The couple spent the money on flashy cars, designer clothes, holidays and a sprawling ranch-style home, only for tragedy to strike in 1965 when Mr Nicholson died in a car crash on the A1.
A huge tax bill swallowed up what was left of the windfall but Mrs Nicholson remained a regular presence in the headlines, performing on the cabaret club scene and battling alcohol addiction and depression.
She moved to Malta but was deported from the country following an altercation with a policeman.
By the 1980s, she had become a Jehovah’s Witness, while her status as a Northern cultural icon was confirmed with an appearance on the cover of the single Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths.
A musical based on her life – called Spend Spend Spend – premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds in 1998 and later toured.
She died at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, at the age of 79 in 2015, following a five-year battle with dementia.
The Pools brand communications manager Jessica Thomas said: "Viv Nicholson holds a place in our hearts that goes far beyond a winning coupon, with her story one of the most extraordinary chapters in The Pools' 103-year history.
"Viv's intention to 'spend, spend, spend' became a cultural moment that entered into national conversation – with her tale inspiring countless national newspaper headlines, a number of books and even a West End musical.
“While the way people consume football since 1961 has evolved, there’s still something special about looking ahead to a weekend of fixtures and seeing how your predictions unfold – as Viv’s husband Keith did 65 years ago to the day.”
Jessica adds: “We remember Viv with enormous fondness and affection. She was bold, brilliant and lived life entirely on her own terms – and The Pools are proud to be part of her story.”