Odds of 33-1 proved too much for a Laindon woman when she came within a whisker of scooping UK radio's first ever £1 million jackpot.

Janette Parish, of Ford Road, crashed out in the first round after beating thousands of hopefuls to become a contestant on Virgin Radio's guaranteed £1 million giveaway, aired today.

Mrs Parish travelled up to London last night (Thursday) for an all-expenses-paid stay in the Metropolitan Hotel, courtesy of the station.

And today she faced 32 other people in an eliminator race to the record-breaking prize.

Station owner and breakfast show presenter,Chris Evans, kicked off the competition 77 days ago, pledging to give away £1 million at the end.

To enter the competition, Mrs Parish registered her name and number on a special phone line, and waited for a call at 8.10am.

She answered the call with the correct catchphrase - "Good morning, Chris, I'm so excited I've got to go to the toilet" - and correctly answered two out of three questions to win either £1,000 or a ticket to the final.

Her daughter Sam, 19, said: "I don't think it was a difficult decision - she thought that if you get a chance like this, you've got to go for it."

Today's competition was an eliminator - contestants were brought to the studio and asked "A or B" questions. Anyone giving the wrong answer in any round was knocked out.

Mrs Parish, the last of the 33 contestants, was asked her question just before 8am.

Family and friends of the contestants listened to the competition in the Midas Touch pub, Walthamstow.

Unlucky - Janette Parish missed out on the £1 million prize

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.