Identity of Deal or No Deal banker has been revealed after years of mystery

Iconic gameshow Deal or No Deal has been on the air for the majority of the 21st century so far, but there is one thing that viewers have long wondered about.

The ITV show features a Banker, though the millions of viewers who have tuned in over the years have never seen his face or even heard his voice.

He would only feature in phone calls to former host Noel Edmunds, when the programme was on Channel 4, before he stepped down and was replaced by Stephen Mulhern on the show in 2023.

It's well documented as one of British TV's biggest mysteries, but it looks like 20 years from the show's first episode, it may have been solved.

Apparently, the man behind those lucrative offers has also made a few more public appearances and was actually part of the UK's longest-running soap opera Coronation Street,.

Catherine Tate and Noel Edmonds take part in a special charity episode of Deal or No Deal (Paul Groom/Comic Relief/Getty Images)

The man who originally played the Banker was none other than Glenn Hugill.

Now 55, Hugill is best known for playing Alan McKenna on Coronation Street from 1996 to 1997.

McKenna was a detective that dated Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin) in the soap, with the couple set to marry.

But as hardcore Corrie fans know, Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson) crashed their special day by exposing his own one-night stand with Fiona, wrecking their plans.

As a result, the detective left Weatherfield but Hugill made a handful of appearances in other shows over the years.

Do you recognise the original Banker of Deal or No Deal? (ITV)

It is said that there is now a new Banker, with Hugill believed to be behind the role for only a year before being replaced, report Metro.

New host Mulhern has admitted: "I don’t know who the Banker is, so I wouldn’t be able to recognise who it was.

"So, he could walk past me at any point."

All he knows is that the person on the other end of the line is 'male', and not much else.

The new host said that he 'supposedly' listens to contestants in the hotel and what they're up to, before going on the phone to the host who has 'to repeat what he says'.

While this isn't the first time that the Banker's identity has been discussed, it looks like viewers are only now paying attention.

Back in 2015, Richard Osmon, who was the host of Pointless, revealed Hugill as the Banker on the popular show, while many realised he was even an executive producer on the show.

Hugill had his own production company, Possessed, before selling it to ITV and joining Wheelhouse, a company started by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.