Watching the National Lottery live draw has changed over the years.
When it first started back in 1994 there was just one draw and it was played out live on Saturday night TV.
Nowadays, things have changed, with more games, more Lottery draws and more ways to watch.
When did the National Lottery live show start?
The first programme was broadcast on November 19, 1994 on BBC One – and it aired weekly.
In 1997 the show expanded to include Wednesday nights and in 2008 Friday was added.
From January 2013 to December 2016, the show cut back to Saturday nights only.
The show ended on December 31, 2016, with Gaby Roslin hosting the final live draw.
Is the National Lottery shown on TV?
Since 2017, the results have been available to watch on the National Lottery website and YouTube.
However, since 2018 the National Lottery Lotto results have been shown on ITV every Saturday night.
They’re shown during the ad breaks of your favourite Saturday night shows.
However, the draw isn’t broadcast live. Instead, it’s shown shortly after the draw has happened.
Stephen Mulhern presents it and as well as the night’s winning Lotto numbers it also spotlights a National Lottery-funded project.
A quick way to get the numbers is to check our dedicated live results checker pages for Set For Life, Lotto, Thunderball and Euromillions.
Can you watch the National Lottery draw live?
You can.
You can watch all the draws on the National Lottery website or on its YouTube page.
Which National Lottery draw is on tonight? What time is the National Lottery live draw?
The Set For Life draw takes place every Monday and Thursday evening at 8pm
The Thunderball draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday at 8pm and Wednesday & Saturday at 8.15pm
The EuroMillions draw takes place every Tuesday and Friday at 8.45pm
The Lotto draw takes place every Wednesday at 8pm and Saturday at 7.45pm
Who presented The National Lottery Live?
The very first National Lottery Live show – as it was called then – was presented by Noel Edmonds.
Afterwards, it was co-presented by Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy, who was later replaced by Bob Monkhouse.
Commentary on the draws was provided by Alan Dedicoat from 1995 and he became known as The Voice of the Balls.
Psychic Mystic Meg and numbers expert Sam Weren also appeared.
For a spell, Carol Vorderman had her own segment in which she used mathematical techniques to predict the winning numbers.
Other notable names who hosted the show include Terry Wogan, Carol Smillie, Ulrika Jonsson and Dale Winton.
National Lottery Who Dares Wins
From 1998 to 2016, the Saturday night draws were presented as part of a gameshow.
Until 2006, the draws were presented live, with the game show’s host presiding over the draw.
However, the game shows then started to be pre-recorded, with the lottery draws hosted live by a different presenter and slotted into the show.
Almost 20 National Lottery game shows have aired between 1998 and 2016.
Who Dares Wins, hosted by Nick Knowles, continued to air until 2019 but without National Lottery branding.
Other notable shows that deserve a mention include Winning Lines, hosted by Phillip Schofield, which ran rom 2001 to 2004.
Eamonn Holmes hosted Jet Set from 2001 till 2007 and Dale Winton presented In It To Win It from 2002 till 2016.
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