Manchester performance artist and community organiser Tolu earned a spot on Millionaire’s Row in the new ITV interactive game show Win Win, and shared how he hopes the representation on-screen will extend to the real world
06:33, 11 Oct 2025Updated 16:43, 11 Oct 2025
Tolu works on various projects within Greater Manchester to help inspire people from all walks of life participate in art and feel part of a community(Image: Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery)
ITV’s Win Win With People’s Postcode Lottery hit our screens for the first time this year, with players at home and in the studio both able to win prizes.
Comedy duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have joined forces once more to host the interactive quiz show. Viewers may remember them from their work in the Great British Bake Off tent, and this ITV move is just as charming.
Win Win started with 40 contestants in the studio, all battling it out to win some amazing prizes, including dream holidays and luxury cars, as well as tickets for the world’s biggest sporting and entertainment events.
However, the ultimate goal for every player is to end up on Millionaire’s Row. The lucrative spot in the final will see one contestant win that jackpot of at least one million pounds.
As the final takes place on Saturday (October 11), those on Millionaire’s Row will also be in with the chance of winning a massive amount of jackpot prizes too, including: a BMW 1 Series car, a holiday to Orlando with £5,000 spending money, a trip to Australia to see The Ashes, with New Year in Sydney and Take That Circus Tour tickets with a meet and greet with the band and a five-star hotel.
One contestant who is in for a shot of taking it home is Manchester’s very own Tolu, a musician, vocalist and performance artist who works with communities across Greater Manchester to help bring people from different backgrounds together and make art more accessible.
Securing a spot in the final, Tolu spoke with the Manchester Evening News about his time on the series. When asked why he decided to sign up for the show, he said: “I am an unashamed game show addict.
“I absolutely love game shows and I grew up on them with my family, so I’ve been on a couple already and one was actually with Mel, not with Sue.
“I won a show called 1000 Heartbeats where you get 1000 of your own heartbeats to complete seven logic-based rounds. I was then on a show called Cannonball, which is all about adults competing in an inflatable waterpark in Malta.
“I just love shows that rely on logic instead of general knowledge, so as soon as this one came up, I thought that’s a show I can win without having to know anything, but just using my brain to work it out in real time.”
Mel and Sue joined forces once again to host the interactive game show(Image: Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery)
Appearing alongside Mel and Sue, Tolu praised the pair: “They’re trying to keep us separate, but those two are amazing, and they’re finding every opportunity to try and come and hang out with us, and I kind of love, like as I say I’ve been on a couple of shows before, and I don’t know how rare it is that what you see on TV is the energy that you really get off stage.
“Mel is literally as lovely as she is, Sue is as blue as she is, and they’re both just really funny, and it’s amazing to see them back together, because I just think they’re a great combo, we’ve missed them, and hopefully the UK is ready for a lot more of them in future.”
Tolu won a car on Win Win before deciding to trade his prize for a spot on Millionaire’s Row. This decision will hopefully pay off as he sets out his plans for the big win.
Tolu spends a lot of his time dedicated to the local communities in Greater Manchester, and if he wins that golden jackpot Tolu admitted that he wants to help fund projects close to his heart.
He added: “I run an organisation called Rainbow Noir, which is all about bringing LGBTQ, black and brown people together, just bringing people from the margins, there’s loads of projects I can do for that.
“And my regular job is with the Untold Orchestra, and that’s a charity, we’re trying to take the snobbery out of orchestral music and just make high art a little bit more accessible for people, particularly like in Hulme and Moss Side. So just being able to plug into those communities and just give people a little bit more of a chance to get involved in stuff that they’ve been excluded from, that’s my heart.”
He also added that there’s “life stuff to think about” when it comes to potentially winning all of that money, and continued: “You know, me and my partner will probably buy somewhere, we’ll probably sign something on some paper and just make everything a little bit more official. And there’s my family to think about.”
Tolu is hoping that his spot on Millionaire’s Row will inspire people from different backgrounds to work together(Image: Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery)
Hoping to represent members of the community in and around Manchester that often get overlooked, particularly in the arts industry, Tolu shared that “the climate is difficult for a lot of people who are seeking safety and refuge in the UK generally, and definitely our city is a beacon of diversity.
“It’s kind of like a bit of a lighthouse for people who haven’t got, you know, you can’t find solace and comfort where they are, we’re a place where people can come together and find themselves in each other, when they haven’t seen themselves, you know, represented before, so we’re just trying to do that,” for the work that he does for Rainbow Noir and Untold Orchestra.
Relating this to his time on the show, Tolu added: “All my work is basically around trying to help people on the margins, like, feel connected, and feel seen, and feel celebrated, so if I can do that via the show, then we’ve kind of already won.
“And honestly, there’s something to be said about the contestants. There’s 40 of us, from like the all four, five, however many corners of the UK there are, all different ages, all different colours and creeds, and characters, and wits, and dryness, and just, there’s like, there’s a snapshot of the UK, sort of, in that room, and it’s a really kind of cool vibe of connection and family already.
“It’s sort of a little bit, I know it’s just a show, and it’s a big show, and there’s a lot of prizes to be won, but the way we’ve already all connected is a pretty beautiful little snapshot of what could happen if we all just, you know, get along, and people watch, and, you know, elevate couches as well, and manifest apparently!
“But yeah, it’s just that, honestly, really, it sounds so cliché, but it feels like I found a little extra community on the show already.”
Tolu shared that both Rainbow Noir and Untold Orchestra are both online for people to find out more, and with the orchestra he added: “You don’t need a tux or a two-piece to enjoy a symphony, or be part of it, and to make orchestral music, and it’s fun, and you can find me live all over the city, quite often at Blue’s Kitchen, at Albert Schloss, and at many other venues as well in Manchester”.
For those watching at home ready for the final, Tolu offered some advice: “It is a really fun show. Make sure you’ve downloaded the app beforehand, because I was watching it after, and my friends were saying it’s just so chaotic trying to download the app and play at the same time, so that’s a practical note, make sure you got it downloaded.
“And make sure you just get involved, you don’t have to get everything right at home, as I understand it, to get on the seat.
“So yeah, give it a go, especially if you’re intimidated by any shows that require vast general knowledge and really complicated logic. If you’re living in Britain, and you know people, you’ve got a decent chance of knowing what people love and what they don’t. So it’s anyone’s game.”
Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery, ITV1, Saturday, 7.30pm.