Golden Balls star who had £100k stolen in iconic 'split or steal' says rival received vile death threats

It remains one of the most controversial moments in gameshow history, but what happened after the cameras stopped rolling on that episode of Golden Balls?

Back in 2008, Stephen Bushnall sat across from rival Sarah, as they played for the chance to win a share of £100,150.

For those of you who aren't that familiar with the show, it was hosted by comedian Jasper Carrott, and saw contestants compete for huge sums of money.

As the title would suggest, contestants would be given two golden balls, each of which either said 'split' or 'steal'.

Another ball also contained a certain amount, and they would then have to convince the other person that they were going to split the money.

However, if one chose 'split' and the other chose 'steal', whoever stole would walk away with all of the cash.

It was about as toxic a premise as you could get, and it made for some incredible television moments... which brings us nicely back round to Stephen and Sarah.

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As you can probably guess, Sarah promised Stephen the world, but in the end stole the lot, leaving her opponent broken.

It was a national scandal, and even members of the audience were stunned by her treachery, with things taking a dark turn once filming stopped.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Stephen revealed: "I don't know who they were - they weren't with me or anything - but some people were really angry. They told her to, 'Go die'.

"I was quite worried about Sarah after this, despite what she had done to me, as it's just part of my nature.

"Host Jasper [Carrott] even asked why I was so concerned about her - but that's just who I am."

Stephen also said they talked for up to 10 minutes, including a moment where they hugged, but in the final edit viewers only got to see a couple of minutes of it.

He added: "There were bits that weren't put in the final show, just bits where she said 'Let's stand both side-by-side next to Jasper and open the balls'.

"And 'If I steal my family would disown me' and other bits like that. She said we were going to go for a meal and celebrate after."

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"There were tears and I got quite emotional - and that is why she totally hook line and sinkered me because I was 100 percent certain she was going to split."

Stephen said 'she played the game and she won'.

Sarah also told the contestant they would go for a meal and celebrate after, but that wasn't the case, as she disappeared backstage and he never saw her again.

"There was a lot of talking and we gave each other a big hug as we couldn't believe we were there and it was this much money... There were tears and I got quite emotional - and that is why she totally hook line and sinkered me because I was 100 percent certain she was going to split."

You really can't trust anyone, can you?