Right Said Fred: Talking Betting With Betfred Boss Fred Done

The teenage tennis ace, who has Covid and won't be present to receive the award she's highly likely to win, has led the betting ever since her historic triumph in the US Open earlier this year.

 Second in the market is Olympic gold medal-winning diver Tom Daley at 10/1, ahead of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury at 25/1.

 Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty is a 50/1 shot – while one I can barely believe, Raheem Sterling, is 100/1.

The rank outsider is Paralympic legend Dame Sarah Storey at 125/1.

There’s a few reasons why this list is highly controversial and frankly makes the whole event look a little silly.

Firstly, there’s no place for Lewis Hamilton who, despite losing out in the dramatic Grand Prix finale in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, surely merits a place in the top six sportspeople of the year.

Then we’ve got Fury, who has actually said that he will sue the BBC if he’s on the list!

Finally, the inclusion of Sterling. I noticed the BBC report that says he’s on the list because of his exploits for Premier League title winners City, as well as being a star man for the Three Lions at the Euros.

I’m not saying this with rose-tinted glasses on, but he’s not always first choice for City anymore and although he plays excellently for England we didn’t actually win the Euros, did we?

He made the official Team of the Tournament, but so did Harry Maguire – and the skipper Harry Kane, who for me should be amongst the six if a footballer is to be included.

Finally, what a nonsense the Champions League draw, which had to be redone after they made a big mess of the first one, was.

From a United point of view, it was good to dodge PSG with Messi, Mbappe and co, who were drawn against first time round.

Atletico Madrid now await in the Round of 16 in February – while City have Sporting, Chelsea take on Lille and Liverpool face Inter Milan.

City remain favourites at 11/4 with us to win the Champions League for the first time in their history. 

One person who wasn’t at all surprised when twins Graham and Andy Ross both won big with us at Betfred – their mum.

 “They do everything together, even the same bet down at the bookies,” said 79-year-old beaming Beryl.

The fun-loving duo – dubbed the ‘Sombrero Twins’ by Betfred staff in Oxfordshire – each put £6 on the Spanish Lotto within a minute of each other, and both picked up £30,000.

They went for the same four numbers – 1, 2, 3 and 4 – which were all drawn out, netting them a total of £60,000.

Amazingly, it’s the second time the twins have won using numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, winning £13,000 five years ago on the National Lottery when they had been watching a star wars film and picked the number four on the back of the phrase “may the force be with you”.

Graham and Andy, 50, aren’t sitting around wondering what to do with their winnings, for the inseparable twins have already decided on a trip to Bournemouth for proud mum Beryl, a Caribbean cruise and new cars.

Throughout their lives, the two have been mirroring each other. At school, teachers couldn’t separate them and they had to have letters G & A sewn into their jumpers.

It was no surprise when they got identical GCSE  O-Level results, but with Graham being better with numbers he went to work for a bank while Andy became a roofer.

They went on their first foreign holiday together at 21 to Tenerife - and came back with the sombrero souvenirs  that led to their nickname, together with their weekly bets on the Spanish Lotto.

The pair play tennis together at Witney Tennis Club, near their home on Deer Park Road, in the Cotswolds and both support Oxford United – and have striker  Dean Windass is their all-time favourite player.

They live together with mum Beryl, often dress alike, including their Christmas jumpers, and have had at least one embarrassing mix-up with the opposite sex.

Andy said: “I was in the pub a few years back and this woman hugged me from behind. She insisted I was Graham, and I had to prove I wasn’t through a name label in my jumper that mum had put there so she didn’t get mixed up with the washing.”

Regarding their bet, Graham – the oldest of the two by ten minutes – said: “We picked the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 which really have the same chance of being drawn as any others.

“We lost our father in September so we picked 1, 2 and 3 for the three members of our family – and then Andy was with our pet cat Suzie having his tea and all the numbers were laid out when she put her paw on number four. It was four minutes before we had to put our bet on, so we went with that number too.

“She’s going to get a cat food upgrade and a new padded basket!”

He went on: “We’ve always liked each other’s company, and even when I worked away having left school it was only for a few months and then I was back with Andy and our parents."

Andy added: “At school we were an absolute nightmare for the teachers, who kept getting us mixed up. We’re not quite as identical nowadays, with me putting a bit of weight on, but I’m saying that’s because I work outdoors more than Graham.

“We’ve always liked a good laugh. At school, where we were both prefects, we did a sketch called we called ‘The Two Rosses’ based on the ‘The Two Ronnies’. The eight O levels results were identical and there was no cheating as we were on separate tables well away from eight other.

“We do have disagreements, but not many. They’re usually when we play tennis, as we can both have McEnroe moments."

So how did they twice beat the odds? Graham explained:  “I saw the Spanish Lotto betting slip in the Betfred shop in Witney.  it was the last one, and I just knew we had to get that bet on. Maybe it was our father looking down on us, because he always told us to be lucky in life.

“A minute earlier, Andy had already put the same numbers on, so I thought I’d do the same. Six pound is double what we would normally put on, but with it being Christmas we felt this could be our time.

“He’s getting himself a new BMW with his winnings, but I’m going for a new Skoda. We like the look of St. Lucia in the Caribbean, so a cruise is likely for the new year.

“The cat Suzie is getting her treats – and mum likes it in Bournemouth, so we’ll be taking her there as a treat for putting up with us over 50 years."

Andy added: “It was four hours after we put the bet on, when we were watching TV downstairs and Beryl was upstairs snoring away, when we checked the result of the draw. It was a fantastic feeling to know  our four numbers drawn out and realise we’d won £30,000 each.

“It’s a dream come true, and it’s all thanks to Betfred and their brilliant staff.

"We are absolutely made up by the biggest win we’ve ever had, and we’re going to make the most of it.”

You could say it’s a purr-fect win with Suzie picking out number four!

With all the gloom around at the moment, it’s heart-warming that Graham and Andy have pulled off this fantastic double...and just in time for Christmas.

Have a great time fellas – and it looks like you’ve already got a superb 2022 mapped out cruising in the Caribbean sea.

Well done to the sombrero twins who have proved you can win big with small stakes with us.

Lucky grandad Nick Kelley took a break from celebrating his £50,000 win to wish everyone at Betfred a Happy Christmas.

"It’s the least I can do,” said the 48-year-old from Liverpool, whose four numbers came up on the 49s.

Nick, who lives near the Betfred shop on Broad Lane, Norris Green, wagered £10 on a lucky dip with the numbers 16, 42, 44 and 46.

He said: “I usually use the birthdays of my three children and grandchildren, but on this occasion I just went for a lucky dip – and it paid off!

“I’ll be using the money to make sure my family get themselves decent presents this Christmas, which I’m going to make sure is our best ever.

“By way of celebration I went out for a few pints of San Miguel and a nice meal."

What a timely return for this regular customer. Well done Nick, and I hope you have a cracking time during the festive period.