A MOTHER left destitute by her bigamist husband is rebuilding her life after winning £8,000 on TV quiz Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Viewers saw Jean Thomson, 43, beam as she walked away with the cheque. It brought to an end years of heartache and penny-pinching after a disastrous relationship with love cheat Robert Hutchings.

Two weeks ago, Teesside Crown Court heard how Hutchings married Jean and then a third wife without divorcing his first partner, Violet Hutchings. Jean, from Newcastle, had to support layabout Hutchings and bring up their son, Christopher, ten, single-handed.

Viewers saw Jean's success on Sunday night. Yesterday, she said: "When he walked out on us, Christopher and I were left with nothing.

"In the years since he left, I have struggled and saved and was just about getting myself back on track again. Suddenly, Christopher and I have a wonderful windfall.

"I think we deserve some good fortune after what we have been through and I will get him something really nice."

Former Irish Guardsman Hutchings, 53, denied two charges of bigamy, but was convicted after a week-long trial.

Sentencing has been adjourned