Samantha Milner has won an impressive booty of prizes including £5,000 holiday vouchers, jewellery and a mobile phone.
A thrifty NHS worker who entered her first competition on a whim 26 years ago has now bagged a whopping £40,000 worth of freebies.
Generous mum-of-two Samantha Milner, 48, enjoys nothing more than dishing out prizes to her friends and family – and she is hoping to win plenty more in time for Christmas.
The veteran ‘comper’, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, whose impressive booty includes £5,000 worth of holiday vouchers, a designer sock subscription, jewellery and an LG mobile phone, spends up to three hours a day entering giveaways.
And, currently on leave from her job as a discharge facilitator – where see oversees the safe discharge of patients on a hospital gastroenterology ward – while she recovers from major hernia repair surgery, she is making the most of the extra time on her hands.
Samantha, mum to Joe, 20, and Ashley, 26, explained: “At the moment, I’ve got a bit of time off so I can spend eight hours a day entering competitions.
“It’s handy in the run up to the festivities, as I can try to win presents for my friends and family. Last Christmas, I won my nephew a £100 toy bundle and my niece a Toby Toymaster voucher for £150 worth of dolls.
“I enter about 100 competitions at a time. I just scroll through social media without really thinking about it.”
As well as Christmas presents, Samantha has been able to spoil her niece and nephew with a whole host of treats throughout the year, including a giant go-kart, toy bundles and Thomas the Tank Engine books – all thanks to entering online competitions.
Her fiancé Shane Wilson, 49, who works as a garage forecourt manager, was not always a fan of her ‘comping’ – although she has been winning him over by spoiling him with prizes.
“At first Shane didn’t really see the point in comping. He wasn’t against it, but he wasn’t bothered either way,” she said. “But he’s come round to the idea of me entering competitions because when I do win, we get to go on holiday and do nice things.
“He’s really into fishing and I’m entering lots of fishing competitions, so I can hopefully win him a fishing rod.”
When Samantha first got into entering competitions almost three decades ago, it was on a complete whim – and she never imagined she would actually win anything.
But, after entering a giveaway she saw advertised in a leaflet, she scooped £5,000 in Thomas Cook vouchers, which she spent on a family holiday to Disney World in Florida and an all-inclusive trip to the Greek Island of Kos.
And her winning streak didn’t stop there as, just a week later, she bagged a trip to Naples, a city on Florida’s Gulf Coast in the USA.
“I entered my first competition on a whim – just because I had a postage stamp on me – but I never thought I’d win,” Samantha explained.
“One week later I entered another competition I saw in a newspaper and I ended up winning a trip to Florida,” she added.
“I never thought I’d be here, devoting hours of every day to comping, 26 years later. If I hadn’t won all those years ago, I would never have carried on.”
Inspired by beginner’s luck, Samantha began entering more and more giveaways.
Now a veteran, she has noticed that the way competitions are run has changed drastically in the last 26 years.
She explained: “When I first started, there was no Internet so I entered competitions in magazines and newspapers, and everything had to be sent in on a postcard.
“I also signed up to a monthly ‘compers’ magazine.”
Samantha continued: “Nowadays, it’s all online and there are so many people entering, making the chances of winning few and far between.”
Still, despite the added rivalry which has come with the arrival of online giveaways, Samantha has still bagged a huge haul of impressive goodies.
Restricting her entries to competitions offering prizes she is interested in winning, she would never apply simply for the sake of it.
But she enjoys treating her family and friends with the freebies she has scored.
“I won a holiday to Scotland that I gave to a friend and a second prize hedge trimmer that I gave to my mother-in-law,” she recalled.
“I’ve also won designer cushions, £150 worth of vouchers for an online electrical retailer, prints of my choosing, juice drinks, whiskey glasses, a globe, clothes, watches, perfume, lots of books, toy bundles and nights away in London.”
“My friends always ask me why I don’t sell the prizes, but that’s not why I enter competitions,” she continued.
“I mostly enter to win holidays, and anything I can give away to my friends and family.”
Now, Samantha is such a dab hand that she even runs a Facebook group dedicated to sharing the best online competitions with 51,000 followers.
She has also warned against online scams that entrants should be wary of.
“Often you can spot a scam if the prize seems too good to be true,” she explained. “Another tell-tale sign is if the page has just been set up and the competition has been posted but there’s no other contact information or posts on the page.
“It can be hard to spot if you’ve not been entering competitions for very long though. I’ve tried to warn some people, but they don’t always listen, because they want to win the prize.”
Sadly, Samantha says she has spotted lots of the fake competitions floating around.
“The last fake competition I saw was offering a family trip to the cinema, and everyone who’d commented on the post won,” Samantha explained. “They then asked for the card details, including the three numbers on the back, from everyone who supposedly won the competition. I just hope no-one gave their details out.”
While some of her best prizes were won in her early days, Samantha is still feeling optimistic about bagging another big win.
“I’ve got a feeling I will win something massive. I think it’s luck – you’re either lucky or you’re not. Even if there are 10,000 entrants I could still win,” she said. “But I don’t worry about it if I don’t win.
“I really want to win a holiday to the Maldives that me and my step-daughter Sophie can go on together.”
Now a successful ‘comper’ in two different centuries, Samantha’s top tip is to always be persistent.
She concluded: “Don’t give up. A lot of people give up easily, but you have to keep trying.”
The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?
Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night's 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.
A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.
“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”
Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.
“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”
Here’s what to look for at this year’s Globes:
The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!’s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.
The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars' arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.
The overwhelming Oscar favorite “One Battle After Another” comes in with a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” are all in the mix.
But thus far, “One Battle After Another” has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.
If it and “Sinners” take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.”
The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.
After an audacious promotional tour for “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).
In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked: For Good”), won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production “Dracula.”
Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”) and Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”).
In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favorites.
The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.
But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for “The Substance” and gave the night's most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.
A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.
One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident” is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran's leaders.
For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First.”
In TV, HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s “Adolescence” comes in with five nods.
But the most closely watched nominee might be “The Studio.” The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) “The Studio” is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.
For more coverage of this year’s Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards
Timothee Chalamet arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Amy Poehler, left, and Joel Lovell arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Owen Cooper arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Teyana Taylor arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Teyana Taylor arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Stellan Skarsgård, left, and Megan Everett-Skarsgard arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Colman Domingo arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Selena Gomez arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Nikki Glaser arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Maura Higgins, from ledt, Gayle King, and Mona Kosar Abdi arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Derek Hough arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Tessa Thompson arrives at the Golden Globes Golden Eve on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Nikki Glaser rolls out the red carpet during the 83rd Golden Globes press preview on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
