A woman who had travelled the UK prior to the pandemic after winning a jackpot on Deal or No Deal became agoraphobic after her brother died with Covid, but has since found escapism through writing a novel, and hopes to be able to leave the house to attend the launch party for her sequel one day.
Lynne Hackles, 73, a freelance writer, travelled across Britain in a motorhome for three years with her husband Colin, 75, a retired reflexologist, before Covid brought their adventures to a halt.
The thrill seeker had bought her first motorhome after gambling between 10p and £75k on the TV programme Deal or No Deal in 2006, winning the jackpot.
Around a decade later, Lynne and her husband sold their home, bought a new motorhome, and went travelling around the UK in 2017.
When the Covid lockdown arrived in March 2020, the campsite Lynne and Colin were staying at in Malvern, Worcestershire, closed and they were forced to move onto a friend’s driveway.
In April 2020, Lynne’s brother died with Covid, which she says was the catalyst for triggering agoraphobia.
Since moving into rented accommodation, Lynne has only left the house a handful of times in the past three years and says writing has kept her “sane” – last month, her first novel, ‘Gail Lockwood and Her Imaginary Agony Aunt’ was published.
Lynne, from Rochford, Worcestershire, said: “We’d bought our motorhome with my Deal or No Deal winnings. We had decided to have an adventure with our second motorhome, bought in 2016, and I thought we’d just go away for a few weeks but we went for three years up and down the coast.
“My brother’s death really took a toll on me, especially (as) I was not able to say goodbye and I have not been able to leave the house like I used to since.
“It’s something I’m working on and, while I missed my novel launch party, my goal is to attend the one for the sequel when it’s eventually released.”
Lynne bought her first motorhome with her £75k winnings from Deal or No Deal in 2006.
She said: “Colin had a heart attack and he had said to me that he couldn’t achieve his dream anymore of cycling around the coast of Britain.
“I decided to go on the show and win money so we could still go on the trip but in comfort.”
The prize money enabled Lynne and her husband of 56 years to travel around the country and visit “dream” places.
She said: “We did the North Coast 500 route from Inverness to John O’Groats at the top of Scotland. We also travelled along the north coast of Wales which had beautiful scenery.
“It all came to an end with lockdown, although luckily, we had friends nearby who let us park up on their driveway.
“At first lockdown wasn’t too bad because we could go for walks, work in my friend’s garden and have meals together.
“But when I learned that my brother was in hospital with Covid, that was when my problems started.”
Lynne said her brother’s health deteriorated quickly but she was unable to see him due to restrictions.
She said: “I phoned up and told the nurse that I wanted to speak to him to tell him I loved him, she said that he was already in a coma but that sometimes people could hear things so she would tell him.”
Lynne’s brother passed away on April 30, 2020, and she was one of 10 people allowed to attend his funeral.
She added: “It was very strange because he had so many friends, so it felt really sad that more people weren’t there.
“Back home, I don’t think I knew how to grieve or get closure, that’s when my problems with leaving the house started.”
Lynne and Colin moved into a new property in Rochford, Worcestershire, in the summer of 2020 and Lynne began to avoid leaving home.
On one rare occasion out of the house to get her Covid vaccine, she suffered a panic attack.
She said: “I felt sick, got all hot and clammy and my heart was thumping. Colin had to take me home.
“It made me not want to leave the house again and I have only been out a handful of times since moving in.
“We’re in the countryside so I’m able to go for walks in my garden. The gate is half a mile away from the house so that’s my exercise and the farthest I’ve gone.”
Despite living with agoraphobia, Lynne has put her energy into writing and said the escapism of finishing her first novel has kept her “sane”.
She said: “I’ve written over 700 women’s magazine stories over the years and I’ve loved working as a freelance writer.
“Stuck in the house, I found a novel I had written about 20 years ago. I looked at it and thought it was awful so I started rewriting it.”
The book, Gail Lockwood and Her Imaginary Agony Aunt, follows the story of fifty-something Gail navigating the new millennium as it starts with redundancy.
During the rewrite, Lynne sought help from Colin as her unofficial proof reader.
She said: “Colin reads my work every day and I’ve trained him over the years to give me constructive criticism.
“I get really nervous about feedback on my work, I can’t bear to look at reviews, but I know friends and family will be kind and offer me support.”
Contacting Cahill Davis Publishing, Lynne’s book was taken onboard and published in May 2023.
“I really wanted to go to the launch party but leading up to it, I just couldn’t,” she said.
“My publishing team were really understanding though.
“It’s so exciting that it’s finally out and while I’m avoiding reviews, I really hope people are enjoying it.”
Now, Lynne is already working on a sequel and hopes she will be able to attend the launch party next time.
She said: “My goal is to keep pushing myself to venture further from the house to the point where I can attend my launch party for the next book.
“The idea of it is great motivation for me to start venturing out of the house again.”
To order Lynne’s book, visit: www.amazon.co.uk/Gail-Lockwood-Imaginary-Agony-Aunt/dp/1915307015
