There is nothing plain about one National Savings & Investment (NS&I) worker. Her alter-ego, Agent Million, gets to travel the length and breadth of the country, and sometimes globe, to deliver momentous, life-changing news – ‘your Premium Bond has won £1million’.



Agent Million might sound like a (Premium) Bond villain in the latest blockbuster Skyfall, armed with the latest gadgets and a plot to bring down 007, but, in fact, she is a middle-aged woman who loves nothing better than the buzz she gets from telling winners about their win.



On the last day of each month, Agent Million sets out on the road on a mission to tell the jackpot winner that they have joined the Premium Bond millionaire club.



Bond, Premium Bond: Agent Million is not James Bonds' next nemesis in Skyfall - instead, she delivers good news to Premium Bond jackpot winners

Her identity is kept under wraps for security and confidentiality reasons - it has been this way since Agent Million was created in 1994, when the million pound jackpot prizes began.



According to NS&I, there have been 273 jackpot winners in the last 18 years – and the current Agent Million, the fourth to take the role and also the longest serving at 11 years – has told roughly half of these winners the good news.

An awful lot of people think I’m pulling their leg and don’t believe me,’ Agent Million, cheerfully says as she discusses her main role – turning up, out of the blue, on winners' doorsteps with confirmation of a jackpot windfall.



‘I take documentation with me to convince people they have won £1million and to prove who I am. A lot of people don’t believe me until the next day, when it has sunk and I have spoken to them again on the telephone. Many say they couldn’t sleep.’

For confidentiality reasons, Agent Million can only tell the winner in person, without anyone else present.



This can lead to some confusion, particularly if the winner is male and his wife answers the door. ‘Some people choose not to tell their partner,’ she informs me.

Premium Bonds are hugely popular and low interest rates have added to their appeal, even though the theoretical rate of return is set at just 1.5 per cent . There are more than 22million Bonds totalling £43billion – with England and Wales having a population of just over 56million, the chances are you or at least someone near and dear to you, will hold Premium Bonds.



Cash prizes: Agent Million, pictured here behind the money, each month travels to the winners home to deliver £1m good news.

Agent Million sets off on her journey – usually the day before, depending on the location of the winner. ‘I usually take the train or a plane,’ she says.



When I hear the word plane, I instantly think of glamorous destinations.



I ask her to detail the exotic locations she been to deliver the good news but she can’t for confidentiality purposes, although she does teasingly reveal that the last place she went overseas had 'worse weather than the UK.'

She also tells me that she been away three times since being in her role – and there are more than 500,000 Premium Bond holdings overseas, worth more than £550million.



What does she do when she isn’t delivering the good news to lucky winners?



Surely she doesn’t sit around NS&I towers for the rest of the month, relaxing and drinking tea until the first of the month rolls back around?



‘I do also advise the winner on options available to them, which may include depositing the money temporarily in a high-interest account, and give them the opportunity to take up no obligation financial advice.’



As well as this, she spends her time overseeing the prize draw through the infamous ERNIE machine and also ringing up to inform those who have won prizes ranging between £100,000 and £5,000 of their win.



Another aspect of her job is to also try and track down those who have unclaimed prizes. There are 846,000 unclaimed Premium Bond prizes worth more than £42million – including one from overseas of £100,000 won in February 2007 from just a £6 holding, according to NS&I statistics.

You can use the This is Money calculator to see if you have won a prize.

Tracing people is one of her favourite parts of the job, as she tells me a tale of tracing a student via a letter. ‘He rang up after we traced him and sent him a letter after some time had passed. He was walking along on his mobile and couldn’t believe it when he heard he had won £10,000 from Premium Bonds he didn’t know he had.’



‘Another good trace we had was when a £65 holding won £25,000 – the Premium Bond holder wrote to us to tell of a change of address and then we delivered the good news.’

A £3 holding from 1959 won the jackpot

After 11 years in the job is she still enjoying it? And are there plenty of emotional tears when she tells people the news?

Confidential: Agent Million cannot reveal her identity - although her husband does know of her job

She said: ‘It’s an entertaining job, I love it. It’s great seeing people’s reactions and how surprised they are, it’s a great feeling. We meet up a few weeks afterwards once the news has sunk in and it’s great.



‘It can be emotional and a lot of people cry. One of my favourites was a woman who had just sold her house as she couldn’t afford to keep it – and then with the news, her financial worries were gone.



‘It’s also great on the run up to Christmas and New Year. I’ve heard of people telling their families on Christmas day and telling them there is “something extra in your stocking this year.”’



Another story that tugs on the heart strings is of an elderly lady that had inherited her husband’s £3 holdings – and won the jackpot.



The Premium Bond was from February 1959 and she forgot they even had it. It was also the only prize it had ever won – and despite the age of the Bond, she even managed to locate it in her drawer.



Perhaps this dispels some of the myths from the sceptical public when it comes to Premium Bonds, saying there is a South East bias, while some question whether only new bonds win.

What happens if someone isn’t in? She tells me that she can’t just hang around outside – so for some days afterwards she keeps trying to contact them until she makes a breakthrough.

‘Summer holidays are the worst,’ she informs me.



How difficult does she find it to keep her role a secret? ‘If someone asks what I do, I just say I work at NS&I.



‘Someone once said to me: “NS&I apparently have someone that delivers the winnings – but I don’t believe it.” I really wanted to tell them I was the person that did it, but I couldn’t.’

She also says her husband does know about her role. ‘It would be hard to explain where I go all the time otherwise,’ she jokes.

Hot tubs and speed boats? Try a plastic knee...

Earlier in the week, a study revealed what National Lottery winners have splashed the cash on – glamorous items such as cars, hot tubs and houses.

Agent Million says that NS&I jackpot winners tend to keep it safe rather than blow it. ‘They tend not to want to advertise they have won the prize to their neighbours,’ she informs me.



Her personal favourite as to what the first thing a winner did with the cash?

