Meet the young North-East couple who lived up to their surname of Million by becoming one of the lucky few to be chosen as contestants for Channel 5's Hot Property, where you can win a mortgage-free home. Viv Hardwick reports... but don't read the last two paragraphs if you want to wait until next Wednesday night to see if they won or not.

MILLIONS of TV viewers will watch as a North-East couple bid to win their dream home after overcoming a string of disasters.

Tracy and Craig Million pair overcame their misfortunes when they were chosen to take part in Channel 5's popular programme Hot Property, due to be shown next Wednesday.

After successfully auditioning against other North-East couples, host Alice Beer challenged the pair to look at three houses in the Durham area. If they successfully guessed the price of their favourite property, within £500 each side of the total, then Tracy and Craig won their choice.

Yesterday Tracy, an events and sponsorship manager for North-East Chamber of Commerce, spoke of the catalogue of misfortune which led Craig's mother to put them forward as Hot Property hopefuls.

She said: "Both of us had suffered redundancy, although Craig is now a promotions officer based at Bishop Auckland Town Hall.

"Craig wrote off his car and was injured in the accident. When we got married in Las Vegas last year, it was just before September 11 and we ended up stranded in Las Vegas without a return flight. We are now in debt for an extra week of hotel, food and car hire, which is quite expensive where we were."

There is an amusing side. Five foot one inch Tracy and six-foot American Football fanatic Craig decided to be married by an Elvis lookalike before realising that is was obligatory to dance to three songs sung in their honour.

At one stage, after five years together, the couple had considered emigrating to Canada Tracy's twin sister Julie also lives in North America and were living in rented accommodation at Woodstone Village near Houghton-le-Spring.

Tracy added: "Then Hot Property came along, even though Alice Beer nicknamed me Polly Poppit because I am so small. We were really nervous and everyone was excited for us because we had the chance to win a house in Durham where I work."

Tracy and Craig were faced with the choice of three properties:

1. A virtually-new three-bed house in Witton Gilbert, ten minutes from Durham, with an asking price around £60,000.

2. A large three-bed semi in Belmont, Durham City, with an asking price in the region of £79,000 to £83,000.

3. A two-bed semi in Sacriston, just beyond Witton Gilbert, with stunning views but a long, child-unfriendly staircase to the garden, around £90,000.

The couple opted for Belmont and had until they drove from Woodstone to Durham to guess the price.

Hot Property, Channel 5, 8.30pm, Wednesday

THE RESULT: They got it wrong. A guess of £79,300 was outside the price of £81,000. Luckily, the pair arranged a house-viewing at Great Lumley the same night if they lost.

"We've been in two months now and couldn't be happier," said Tracy.